webley premier

[bobmeister]

Hi. I have a good condition 1964 webley premier, this has got the nickel finish. i understand that these are quite rare. it is a model b which i have worked out to be the .22 version of a model A. I think it is quite a low serial number 405 . can anybody tell me more about this pistol ? were there many nickel plated ones made ? are they worth anything ? i have seen them going on auction sites for silly money , but i dont believe much i see on the intraweb. this shoots like a dream ( just gave it a full strip , inspect , clean and lube and it puts out around 3 ftlbs which is i think about normal for these pistols. it is in good nick for an old girl, but tomorrow i will give it a proper polish with a bit of kit i have at work. is this a keeper or a get ridder ? tell me all you know about this pistol and fill in any gaps.

cheers

bob

[Garry]

The 405 will most likely be a batch number, not a serial number.
If you ask in the collectibles section as well as here you'll find a few more Webley experts.

[Troubledshooter]

Your .22 'B' Premier is not a .22 version of an 'A' Premier, but a distinct version in it's own right.
The premier appeared in all versions up to 'F', and some had no letters at all.
As said above, 405 is a batch number, from which age can't be determined without factory records, or an original receipt, unless there is a date stamp under the left side grip.
Premiers could be supplied from the factory in Nickel finish if so requested by the customer, and it's possible some were produced on spec by the factory, but once again, without factory records, determining this is impossible.
How many were produced with this finish is anyone's guess, but the figure will be very low.
There are collectors who love the Nickel/Chrome finish and will pay a premium for it, but proving whether it left the factory with it's current finish, or was done after market, is difficult.
You need to take the Premier to one of the collector/dealer gatherings, such as those held at Bisley several times a year, and get the established collectors/dealers to give you an opinion.
I have a Nickel Senior, which, knowing the history of the collection it came from, and after careful examination, I am 99% sure is an original factory produced finish.
I also have a Nickel Junior which has been examined by several other Webley collectors, who reckon it too has an original factory finish, so careful examination is the only way of trying to establish it's authenticity.
Some years ago, I did purchase an after market Nickel finished Premier in it's original box, which had been extremely well done, and I sold it on as the same at a small premium over the normal blued finish price, making sure the buyer knew full well it was not an original Webley finish.
I then heard from various collectors and dealers that the buyer spent the next few months trawling the arms fairs and clubs, trying to get others to confirm it as an original Webley finish.
Unfortunately, I didn't keep a record of the batch number or calibre.

[bobmeister]

wow troubleshooter. a serious authority it seems. thats all the info i need. will just have to trust the person who owned it last with the fact that it was an original factory nickel. thank you so much for taking the time to write all that. had a nice chap who is interested in taking it off my hands , so i will see how it goes.

Thanks mate

Bob