Advice wanted regarding all steel Premiers

[Vic Thompson]

I'm generally being very careful these days as regards buying another air gun as I still fall over the current hoard with regular monotony, but had half a hankering for a 0.177 cal brown gripped Webley Premier. The trouble is that I'm out of touch with prices these days so am asking the BBS Membership for their advice. So folks, what's a fair price to pay for one based on condition, say from 1 to 5 where 5 is vgc and virtually as new (all conditions must be 100% working order). It might be the case that once I find out a bit more regarding price expectations that I'll give up on the idea, but I'll ask anyway and that way at least I'll know.

Thanks in advance,

Vic Thompson.

[Josie & John]

Hi Vic,

If you're looking for a broad range, it may be worth searching for previous valuations and transactions on here as that should give you a starting point. Probably worth looking on Gunst*r and Guntr8der as well as sites like Protek and Tim Dyson. You could also trawl through the Kempton photos I have previously linked as I'm sure to have photographed Premiers before. There might be a slight premium for a .177 but I wouldn't have thought this would make much difference to the price as condition is usually more important than calibre.

Kind regards,

John

[Abasmajor]

The early A & B series Premiers are probably most sought after fetching between around £140 to £200 for an unboxed grade 1-5 example . I'm not a fan of the later Premiers, so I would combine collectability and functionality with an A or B series example in .177 calibre.

Brian

[Vic Thompson]

Thanks for the reply John and I'll certainly follow your suggestions. The reason why I claim to be out of touch with prices is down to the fact that at this moment in time I feel that my ideas of value and anyone else's differ enormously as I don't often see things offered at what I feel they are worth.

In this particular case my "gut feelings" pricewise are as follows :

1 Little or no finish remaining, grips good, fwo, £85,
2 Better than above finish wise (say 25% too 35% finish), grips good, fwo, £85 to £115,
3 Moving up a notch to 75%+ finish remaining, grips good, fwo, £125 to £145,
4 Ditto above, boxed, £165 to £185,
5 Better finish than above, ditto all else apart from having two barrels, £185 to £220.

Well folks, are these figures as listed above a reasonable expectation of what I should pay or is it time for me to think a lot more about spending money and then do so.

I'd appreciate others view of the above along with additional helpful tips as to where else to seek pricing info, as at my age I've not got many opportunities ahead of me to use in spending my meagre pension unwisely (tongue in cheek).

Thanks, Vic Thompson.

[micky2]

Thanks for the reply John and I'll certainly follow your suggestions. The reason why I claim to be out of touch with prices is down to the fact that at this moment in time I feel that my ideas of value and anyone else's differ enormously as I don't often see things offered at what I feel they are worth.

In this particular case my "gut feelings" pricewise are as follows :

1 Little or no finish remaining, grips good, fwo, £85,
2 Better than above finish wise (say 25% too 35% finish), grips good, fwo, £85 to £115,
3 Moving up a notch to 75%+ finish remaining, grips good, fwo, £125 to £145,
4 Ditto above, boxed, £165 to £185,
5 Better finish than above, ditto all else apart from having two barrels, £185 to £220.

Well folks, are these figures as listed above a reasonable expectation of what I should pay or is it time for me to think a lot more about spending money and then do so.

I'd appreciate others view of the above along with additional helpful tips as to where else to seek pricing info, as at my age I've not got many opportunities ahead of me to use in spending my meagre pension unwisely (tongue in cheek).

Thanks, Vic Thompson.

Hi Vic, l don't think you are to far out on your values.

[webman]

Hi Vic. I'm now a "semi-active" collector of Webley pistols, as after a lifetime of collecting I've more or less got the collection that I want and can afford. I still look at prices on the Forum on a regular basis, and I think that your pricing is about right. However, I feel that top rank boxed pistols would cost more than your upper estimate, as a few collectors are prepared to pay a premium for the best. In my case, I had been looking for a Series "A" Premier for a long time off and on, and was happy to pay £280 for a very nice unboxed example fairly recently. I already had an empty box for it! Prices on the open retail market are considerably higher than on the Forum, so aren't a particularly good guide.

[pnird]

I'm in the same boat; looking for a Premier A, for years now. I'm not a collector of boxes, either, so any naked and unashamed A would be welcomed!

John

[archer24]

Well to give a value for a .177 Premier.....
An A if you can find one £250+
Doubt you’ll find a B as they are mainly.22 but are a great pistol...
A C? Seriously?
A good D £150ish
The one I’d go for a early 1970 E....£150.
Prefer the E as a shooter.
Looking through my collection only 2 of 14 are .177 and one of them is a mk2.....

[RobinC]

I'm not an expert but have been told that my Wobley is an E, a Premier in .177, its Boxed, the blue is perfect, serial no. 888, with a Z stamped under the back of the trigger guard.
I bought it S/H in 1972 to start my target shooting career, used it a few weeks before I saw the error of my ways and bought a FWB 65! But I've kept the Wobley ever since!

That pistol set me on nearly 50 years of target shooting and its cost me very many thousands in new guns, and costs, especially as my wife also started rifle shooting because I was doing it, and its taken us both deep into the sport, and taken her to GB team, and many international championships, and medals, and we are even off to Bisley this week end to shoot 300 mt rifle , all started because of that little Wobley!

What do you recon its worth, its cost us many thousands of £'s!

Have Fun

[coddy]

ive a 22 here in really good nic how do i tell if its a or b c model please and it will be up for swaps thanks

[coddy]

found it mines a A in 22 sn 425 in very good nick all works fine

[vbull]

ive a 22 here in really good nic how do i tell if its a or b c model please and it will be up for swaps thanks

I also would like to know....

[Abasmajor]

I also would like to know....

The Series should be denoted by an upper case letter stamped on the left side of the frame under the trigger guard.

Brian