Back when they still used hand work a best gun cost 100 guineas, a mass produced BSA boxlock about 25. A ratio of four to one. A best was about a quarter of the annual salary of mid to high level government employee, ie armed forces commissioned officer or civil servant. No wonder back then it was normal for a new shooter to be gifted a best on his 21st birthday.
In the 60s my local gunshop, Whaley's in Hornsey road, sold a Baikal IZ27 for 70 pounds, a Remington 1100 for 120, a Webley and Scott for 156. Our local butcher ordered a Holland and Holland for 1500 pounds. At the time a skilled worker at the Ford Dagenham plant earned about 75 pounds a week. We were still in the hand work era yet prices were affordable, for regular people. The ratio between a best and a medium grade boxlock went to about ten to one.
Today prices for best guns are multiples of the annual salaries of the professions mentioned above. I quote those salaries because they are precisely recorded over the years and a reliable comparative standard. The ratio between best and medium grade guns is off the charts.
Perazzi make about 2000 guns a year. Perhaps if the others charged similar prices they might sell more too, and become serious businesses like Perazzi as opposed to gun boutiques.
