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crescent firearms company

hotrod82008
I would like to know how old a 12 gauge single shot shotgun is that i inherited from my father. It has #868 over 168 on bottom of gun. Please let me know if anyone knows how old this shotgun is.thanks.
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6 comments

Date Votes
  • nord
    Probably hails from the WW1 era +/-. Value is very little other than for memories. Not a collector piece, never will be.

    Nord
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  • rufe-snow
    It's kind of difficult to date a Crescent shotgun. They were one of the most prolific manufactures of inexpensive shotguns in the U. S. They were in business for over 50 years ( 1880's / 1930's ) under different owners.
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  • Bert H.
    hotrod82008...

    Crescent was in business from 1893 - 1930 (under the Crescent name). There are no published serial number listings for the several million of them that were made. Crescent was near the bottom end of the American shotgun makers, and produced them with a multitude of different names (generally whatever name the hardware store wanted on them), and as such, they have only a very small amount of collector interest. Collector interest is what causes books to be written, and the corresponding inflated values.

    Bert H.

    Real Men use a SINGLE-SHOT!
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  • He Dog
    This question arises often on old shotguns because Crescent was the largest manufacturer of "house brand" shotguns. They built tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of shotguns with over 100 different trademarks or brand names for a huge variety of hardware stores, variety stores and gun dealers, as well as under the Crescent name. Crescent Firearms Co. manufactured between 1888 and 1893 in Norwich Conn. Crescent was merged with N.R. Davis and H & D Folsom to form Crescent-Davis about 1900. Folsom was an importer of shotguns. In early 1930 (or 1926 depending upon which historian you believe) Savage Arms bought Davis-Warner from Folsom and in late 1930 Savage bought Crescent to form Crescent-Davis, which operated independently of Savage. Crescent-Davis was finally absorbed by Universal Tackle in 1954. Confused? So is the history. They built exposed hammer sxs and box lock sxs as well as single shots in various gauges and grades. As far as I know there are no chronologies to date a shotgun to a year. These were utilitarian shotguns inexpensive in their day and today value is extremely modest on these shotguns and no repair parts are available unless manufactured by a gunsmith, and the value does not justify the expense. Most bring less than $200. Cherish it as a family treasure.

    My heros have always killed cowboys.
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  • mrmike08075
    thier "KNICERBOCKER" SXS guns are very nice items. the single shots are of good quality, if they are in good shape. unless its a .410 gauge, or a 28 gauge value is on the low end of the scale even in excellant condition. they can be servicable field guns or wallhangers. best regards, mike.

    What other dungeon is so dark as ones own heart, what jailer so inexorable as ones own mind.
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  • TED GAR
    Cresent shotgun single shot,VG 75.00 excellent 100.00 Cresent make guns in 1892 Nowich Falls Conneticut. Bought out by H&D Folsom in 1893. and Until 1926 was absorbed by Stevens Arms and Tool
    Sounds like you got an family heirloom. Really and truly it is worth what someone wants to pay for it. If someone wants it bad enough for their collection. they will pay..for it..
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