I am NOT a shooter or a true collector as most of the firearms that I have were obtained thru inheritance.

It is a wonderful collection that consists of a .303 Holland & Holland double rifle, 3 Purdey double rifles, 6 Dicksons (including 3 shotguns made for Charlie Gordon), an E grade Fox that has been written up in the DGJ.....firearms by Kettner, Krider, Manton (Joseph), Trulock, Wilkinson, Woodward, plus many more.

I did get "the bug" while I was researching what I have and actually bought a few ~ another cased Dickson 12 bore, a cased pair of duelling pistols w/ accessories by LeFaucheux (sp?)and a cased double rifle by A. Lancaster made for "The Maharaja of Buhlrampor"....plus others.

Sorry to ramble on.....my question is regarding how to sell such item(s) to individuals that might be interested.....I am familiar with the buy/sell board here but most of the items listed appear to be modern firearms and it does not appear to lend itself to antiques....Mr. Bill Wise (his name was SOOOOO appropriate) had advised me to take some time to learn and I have but "this stuff" does not seem to stick with me at all!

The collection has been viewed by a representative of one of the larger auction houses (2 years ago) and so I have a WIDE range of values for most of the firearms but as I am unable to determine condition, wall thickness, etc., I feel that I am at a disadvantage from the start.

I (think) that I would like to avoid the auction route in order to minimize any tax liability, although I have not totally ruled it out.....so any personal recommendations from actual consigners and their experiences would be appreciated! I have noticed that James Julia's auctions seem to have generated great numbers, but I'm not sure how to compare them to others.

With most of the collection being English, my guess is that with the current US dollar devaluation, now might be a good time to sell??

I'm gonna stop now and hope that the wisdom of this board might offer the ideas or suggestions that I may have overlooked!

ALL suggestions and comments welcome!!