valuation on webley premier .177 a series

[malleymal]

Hello im looking for some help valuing my webley premier , its in vgc shoots perfectly and the blueing looks original good condition ..it has an "a" stamped on the rear sight and the no 46 stamped on the barrel release catch ...any help would be great ..thanks in advance.

here are some pics

http://i1296.photobucket.com/albums/...ps433a507c.jpg

http://i1296.photobucket.com/albums/...psed02dbd5.jpg

http://i1296.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9b630e74.jpg

[Josie & John]

Hello im looking for some help valuing my webley premier , its in vgc shoots perfectly and the blueing looks original good condition ..it has an "a" stamped on the rear sight and the no 46 stamped on the barrel release catch ...any help would be great ..thanks in advance.

here are some pics

http://i1296.photobucket.com/albums/...ps433a507c.jpg

http://i1296.photobucket.com/albums/...psed02dbd5.jpg

http://i1296.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9b630e74.jpg

Hi,

Interesting pistol. I would have expected rounded trigger pins on an A Series and these look flat - unless it's simply unclear in the photo?

I have never seen an A on the breech block as opposed to behind the trigger. All the A Series pistols I know of have brown grips but I guess it is possible some were left over from Mark I pistols. The 'Oil' marking is correct for an A, as is the .177 calibre.

What is the date stamp under the grip? Any chance of a pic of this area, as that will prove whether this is an A or not.

John

[malleymal]

the number beneath the grip is 346 ...hope this helps

http://i1296.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7e3145d0.jpg

thanks.

[Josie & John]

the number beneath the grip is 346 ...hope this helps

http://i1296.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7e3145d0.jpg

thanks.

Hi,

There should be more numbers a little further down. Something like 5 5 or 5 65?

Regards,

John

[PaulR]

An interesting one.

I have read that there were some , the first, with no letter stamped above the left trigger guard. Never seen one.

I have an "A" which is sort of rare but this one might just be one of the first.

If it is then you can name your price - start at £200.

Edit - just noticed that it is an "A" although as stated above it is an unusual place to be stamped.
Revise my estimate to £120.

[malleymal]

hi,

there is an 8 and a 5 stamped below on the grip

http://i1296.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5f7e532c.jpg

thanks for the help

[Josie & John]

hi,

there is an 8 and a 5 stamped below on the grip

http://i1296.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5f7e532c.jpg

thanks for the help

August 1965 would tally with when an A Series pistol would have been made. You do not see many of them and this is the first I have encountered with the A stamped on the breech block, as mentioned previously. The A was not made for very long and IMHO was the best Premier model as it still used a leather piston washer and was still completely made of steel. A must have for the discerning Webley collector. On that basis, an unboxed pistol in good original order should fetch at least £150, possibly more.

A nice find.

John

[johnbaz]

hi,

there is an 8 and a 5 stamped below on the grip

http://i1296.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5f7e532c.jpg

thanks for the help

There;'s also a 2 and a 5 at the bottom of your pic! (25)

Hope you don't mind but I copied your pic to my desktop to rotate it 90° for a better view!!

I'll delete it now


John

[PaulR]

August 1965 would tally with when an A Series pistol would have been made. You do not see many of them and this is the first I have encountered with the A stamped on the breech block, as mentioned previously. The A was not made for very long and IMHO was the best Premier model as it still used a leather piston washer and was still completely made of steel. A must have for the discerning Webley collector. On that basis, an unboxed pistol in good original order should fetch at least £150, possibly more.

A nice find.

John

I'll defer to your valuation - not just because I have an "A" - I paid £120 for mine a few years back but accept that this one is somewhat special.
I still use mine. I also have an "E". It is hard to describe but the "A" is so much nicer to shoot, smoother is as near as I can describe although the "E" is perfectly adequate.

[malleymal]

thank you for taking the time to help its most appreciated

[Josie & John]

I'll defer to your valuation - not just because I have an "A" - I paid £120 for mine a few years back but accept that this one is somewhat special.
I still use mine. I also have an "E". It is hard to describe but the "A" is so much nicer to shoot, smoother is as near as I can describe although the "E" is perfectly adequate.

Hi Paul,

It just shows how subjective valuations can be and how rarely A Series Premiers come up. Your valuation is based on solid evidence: I.e. the pistol you bought and mine is an estimate of what I think is a realistic price. Emphasis being on the word think.

I think I paid £60 for mine but that was some 20 years ago!

John

[PaulR]

Hi Paul,

It just shows how subjective valuations can be and how rarely A Series Premiers come up. Your valuation is based on solid evidence: I.e. the pistol you bought and mine is an estimate of what I think is a realistic price. Emphasis being on the word think.

I think I paid £60 for mine but that was some 20 years ago!

John

Up there with you John.

I try when valuing to give an honest opinion based mainly upon what I have paid for similar examples in recent years and from whom I bought them. I got my "A" from someone on here who has a market stall in Suffolk (you know who you are) and who's opinion I trust entirely - i.e. it is a business to him and he needs to make a profit. I bought mine from him about 5 years ago so I took off what might have been his (reasonable) profit before offering my opinion.

This "A" is a bit of an enigma though and, like you, I think it might attract a premium by virtue of where the "A" is stamped - who knows? I'd start the bidding high and see what the interest is.

However we don't do bidding here so I would suggest £180 as it is an unusual "A".

[Abasmajor]

Up there with you John.

I try when valuing to give an honest opinion based mainly upon what I have paid for similar examples in recent years and from whom I bought them. I got my "A" from someone on here who has a market stall in Suffolk (you know who you are) and who's opinion I trust entirely - i.e. it is a business to him and he needs to make a profit. I bought mine from him about 5 years ago so I took off what might have been his (reasonable) profit before offering my opinion.

This "A" is a bit of an enigma though and, like you, I think it might attract a premium by virtue of where the "A" is stamped - who knows? I'd start the bidding high and see what the interest is.

However we don't do bidding here so I would suggest £180 as it is an unusual "A".

Hi,

I would certainly agree with the above estimate (£180) as it took quite a long time for me to even find an 'A' series, and I remember paying a bit over £200 for what was admittedly an almost mint example and came with two barrels.

Like John, I believe there seems to be something a bit softer and smoother about the feel of the 'A' series although this is obviously a very subjective thing.

Regards

Brian