Fox Collectors

I am casually looking at some 12 gauge Sterlingworths- as "shooters" not investment guns--A few ??'s if I may-- take two identical in condition and features 1912- 12 gauge 30" barrels--double trigger, original buttplate, not rechoked or the stocks altered-- which is worth more on the market-both from a purchase price standpoint, and potential resale later-- (1) a Parker hinge pin Sterlingworth--? or a regular Sterlingworth but with auto ejectors- (2) At what year or break point did Fox revise its ejectors, and are both first series and later series ejectors reliable in function? As all my 12 gauge doubles with ejectors happen to be LC Smiths, I am aware that the first series (1888 to 1900 aprox) is to be avoided, but the Lewis design May 1901 is fine--(3) Were both Sterlingworths made in Phila. and later in Utica marked with barrel weight stamping numbers, as were the graded Fox guns? Thanks for the insight--

Concerning the barrel stamps,some barrels have them and some do not. In my experience maybe 40 percent of Foxes i have owned had the stamps.Many were filed off when working down the the barrels and sometimes only one barrel will show a weight number. Bobby

Thanks- also wondered if the pre-WW1 Krupp barrels imported from Germany had weight stampings??

I guess there could be a The Sterlingworth Company gun from 1910 with the first style ejectors, but I've never seen one, and I've never had an opportunity to examine The Sterlingworth Company catalogue to know if they even offered ejectors. The Sterlingworth first appears in the 1911 A.H. Fox Gun Co. "Campfire" catalogue No. 24 along with the new style ejectors. I haven't recorded a Sterlingworth Ejector gun below the 589xx range. IMO a smooth Sterlingworth ejector would be worth more than an equal condition "pin gun" without ejectors.

I agree on the ejectors adding more value- About 5 years ago a local "Mom and Pop" gun and sporting goods shop had a 12 pin hinge style Sterlingworth- 30" DT and extractors, replaced buttpad, 50% wood and metal, but like all Fox guns, mechanically fine- they were asking $1800, which included their consignment fee (estimated to be 15%)-- when I asked why that price, they said the owner had read about a 12 Sterlingworth that Iowa gun writer Phil Bourjaily had bought from Scheels, and had refinished, and he then valued it at that price range- believe he even featured it in one of his articles in Field & Stream. I passed, and about two years later bought the 20 Sterlingworth I own- a Utica gun made in 1936, and for less than their price-in a private deal. I don't think there was a better made, or better handling field grade 'using" double than the Sterlingworth--Would it be accurate to say that most 12 gauge Sterlingworths had No. 2 weight barrels??

I am a smallbore man and they have a lot of 3 weight barrels plus 4 and a few 2 weights.12 gauge should be same way but i could be wrong.then you have the sterlingworth wildfowl model which is very scarce and mine was stamped 0 i believe.Been many years since i sold it.