Fox Collectors

I have a 20 ga. XE I inherited from my grandfather 35 years ago. I have long thought of adding an insurance rider and am looking for advice as to the value.
I will try posting a few pictures if I can figure it out. Thanks in advance.

Apologies to the dial up guys.

Welcome to Foxcollectors!!!, that is a very handsome 20ga XE that looks to be in very nice original condition. Give us the specifics, barrel length etc. Your grandfather left you a beautiful heirloom indeed. Thanks for sharing the pictures. MY guess on a insurance value would be $20,000.

Very nice to say the least and thanks for sharing!

I really shouldn't speculate on the value of your gun, but I'll give you some insight to my observations as of late.

Most 12ga XE's I've seen listed for sale have been anywhere from $8,500.00 to $12,000.00 asking price. The few CE small bores that have been listed this past year have been $9,000.00 to $14,500.00 It really all depends on condition, the configuration of the gun and how much someone really wants the gun. I talked to a guy at the Tulsa show last april that was thrilled with the price of $9,000.00 he paid for a 98% 12ga CE.

I'll take a guess and say on the conservative side, that if a 20ga CE will bring $12,000.00 I would think you could expect if your gun is as nice as it looks and would letter right to possibly double this amount. I personally have never seen a 20ga XE listed for sale, but I've only been watching for Fox's the last five or six years.

I would like to hear what others have to say. I may be off base with my thinking.

What a wonderful inheritence from your Grandfather. From the pictures that looks like a mighty fine wee Fox. The quintessential plantation Quail gun!! If that gun is as good as it looks in the pictures, and has no horrible issues like the barrels have been cut off or the stock is cracked, I can't imagine any of the big dealers having a cent less then $20,000 on that gun.

Thank you all, and thanks for the welcome! The gun is in beautiful condition. I did some bird hunting with it for the first few years but later hated the thought of damaging it and put it away. I will get a barrel length and post it, and some more pics. I understand values are subjective, especially without seeing the gun. I appreciate the input, it sounds like it would be smart to put a $20000 rider on it.
I have ordered "The Book" and will soon order "The Letter". Glad I found this forum.
"Your grandfather left you a beautiful heirloom indeed"
I couldn't agree more.

I'm not up on XE 20 gauge values today. I can only relate an experience of a "few" years ago. An enterprising young Fox collector brought some guns to a show to peddle, apparently to finance a larger purchase. A potential buyer asked him about graded smallbores. He allowed that he had a couple and would display them outside of the show. He laid three XE 20s out. As I remember, they were spread out on the hood of a 1955 or 1956 Chevrolet Sedan Delivery. At least one was cased and one was a two barrel set. I don't recall whether the two barrel set was priced highter than the others, but I remember the seller telling his potential customer that he could take his choice of at least two of the three for the astronomical sum of $1400.00. I have told this story before in the presence of this "collector". I hope he gets a smile out of it if he reads this post.

At the risk of overkill, here are some more pictures. I thought you guys might like to see it assembled. Barrel length is 26 inches.

Was your grandfather the original owner? What type of bird hunting did he do with the gun? What did your grandfather do for a living. The gun looks used but not abused. Very nice, you should get a letter on the gun. A 26" XE is rare. The 20ga 26" XE in Bill Headrick's article in DGJ Spring 2002 looks like your gun's twin.

I believe it was given to my grandfather. He was an avid quail hunter but the gun was really too small for him and he didn't use it much. He always shot an Ithica pump I think. He gave it to me when I was 16. There are a few dings in the stock that you can see in the pictures. I have requested a letter and will be happy to post it when I get it. I am very interested in learning the history.
Is the DGJ artical available anywhere online?

There was a 20 ga xe for sale in a two page colored dispay ad in the autumn DGJ. It was priced at 20,000. The winter volume had another display ad from the same vendor but the xe was missing.