Webley Service MKII

[pumpitup]

Hi, my father is looking to maybe sell off his Webley Service MKII's.
He has three of them, as follows...
One has been refurbed and also has the two spare barrels. (.177,.22,.25)
The other two are rifles only in original condition.
Trouble is, what are they worth??
Any advice welcome.

[Troubledshooter]

In order to get anything like a realistic estimate of values, you would need to supply a lot more detail, such as serial numbers, to determine which series they are, and are the numbers on the triple barrel model all the same, plus what are the calibres of the other two.
Most importantly, you really need to supply pictures of the rifles showing condition of the stocks, barrels and actions.
You are talking about Air Rifles of considerable collectable value, but details previously mentioned will determine what sort of value.
If you aren't able to post pictures yourself, send them to my email address and I will post them for you.

[pumpitup]

Ok here goes..
The refurb/triple barrel is serial no.15011 and that is a match for all 3 barrels.
One is serial no.S856 in .22 cal
The other is serial no.875 (i think it is, cant quite make it out.) in .22 cal
The refurb has a push button to release barrel as does no.875
S856 seems to have a different design to release the barrel but looks as though it may be broken but working.

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...fles/mkii3.jpg
http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...fles/mkii2.jpg
http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...ifles/mkII.jpg
http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...fles/mkii1.jpg

[PaulR]

The refurb if indeed it has three matching serial number barrels - about £800.

The other 2 - £300 each.

[pumpitup]

Oh its definetely three matching serial nos.
Thanks for the info gents!

[gt550a]

Hi,
Photos are a bit unclear, to get an accurate value for your farther of the refurbed service it would be worth taking better quality photos, questions which come to mind are:
What condition are the two other barrels on the refurbed rifle? Have they been refurbed too.
Are the stampings still visible on the refurbed model?
Finally is the refurbed metalwork blued?, if so who did it?

It is possible the refurb is worth more, really is a question of how good is the refurb?

ATB
gt550a

[Troubledshooter]

It would be advisable to re-check the serial numbers, as, in the picture of all 3, the top one is a third pattern, presumably the refurbished No: S15011 - all the serial numbers will be prefixed by 'S' .
The second one down appears to be a first pattern, as you say it has no push button barrel release, but the barrel release spring, which normally projects beyond the barrel slide, is missing, and it will have a number below S1000, so S856 could well be correct.
This one has an offset pivot rear sight that appears to have a non original fitting on the right hand side.
The third one appears to be another third pattern, with a central pivot rear sight, and if that is the case will have a serial number above S2001, not '875'.

[pumpitup]

Hi,
Photos are a bit unclear, to get an accurate value for your farther of the refurbed service it would be worth taking better quality photos, questions which come to mind are:
What condition are the two other barrels on the refurbed rifle? Have they been refurbed too.
Are the stampings still visible on the refurbed model?
Finally is the refurbed metalwork blued?, if so who did it?

It is possible the refurb is worth more, really is a question of how good is the refurb?

ATB
gt550a

Yes the stampings are still visible, on the rifle and spare barrels.
The spare barrels have been refurbed as well.
Yes the metalwork has been blued on rifle and all barrels.
Father says the work was done by "Knibbs" or "Nibbs".
Hopefully that name means something to someone!

[pumpitup]

[QUOTE=Troubleshooter;4397691]It would be advisable to re-check the serial numbers, as, in the picture of all 3, the top one is a third pattern, presumably the refurbished No: S15011 - all the serial numbers will be prefixed by 'S' .

Sorry but it definetely doesnt prefix with anything. Just the number.

[hwvixen]

I'd go a little higher on the refurbed one if it's been done to a high standard...it's quite rare to get ALL three barrels matching the action.I'd go nearer the thousand mark..as .25 barrels have been known to go for £300 alone...

That said...I think Mr Knibbs used to stamp whatever serial No. you wanted on his spare barrels...are all three barrels matching & original..?

[PaulR]

[QUOTE=hwvixen;4398481]That said...I think Mr Knibbs used to stamp whatever serial No. you wanted on his spare barrelsmatching & QUOTE]

Blimey I think that I may be too trusting!

[Troubledshooter]

The action serial numbers you need to check are those on the rear of the trigger guard, not those on the barrels, and they should have an 'S' prefix.
The barrels should have the same numbers, but will not have the 'S' prefix.

[Troubledshooter]

I'd go a little higher on the refurbed one if it's been done to a high standard...it's quite rare to get ALL three barrels matching the action.I'd go nearer the thousand mark..as .25 barrels have been known to go for £300 alone...

That said...I think Mr Knibbs used to stamp whatever serial No. you wanted on his spare barrels...are all three barrels matching & original..?

According to John Knibbs, his barrels do not have the word 'Calibre' on them, but would be stamped with whatever number the purchaser requested.

[hwvixen]

Thanks for confirming what I thought...I bet Knibbs's replacement Service barrels are around £150 each aren't they..or am I out of date...I useually am...

[Troubledshooter]

When I spoke to Mrs. Knibbs some weeks ago she couldn't give a definite figure, but said it would probably be around £160, when they eventually become available.