Value guide
What is my Browning worth?
Browning shotguns are among the better guns that turn up in Michigan estates, and the thing that decides the number isn’t the model — it’s which country built it. That’s stamped on the gun, and almost no one outside the trade knows to look.
No page can price your gun, and any page that offers to is guessing. What this one does is show you the things that decide the number, so you can look at what you have and know whether you’re holding something ordinary or something worth a proper look.
Belgium, Japan or Portugal
Browning designs have been manufactured in several places over the years. The Belgian-made guns, built by FN, are the ones collectors pursue; later production moved to Miroku in Japan, and other models were made in Portugal. Japanese-made Brownings are well built and good guns, and they aren’t priced like the Belgian ones. The country of manufacture is marked on the barrel or receiver, and reading it’s the first thing anybody should do with a Browning.
The models that turn up, and what they mean
| Model | Made | What it means for value |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-5 | 1902–1998 | The humpback semi-auto. Belgian production, and particularly earlier Belgian production, sits well above the rest. |
| Superposed | 1931–1980s | The over-under John Browning designed last. Belgian-built, properly made, and often the best gun in an estate by a wide margin. |
| Citori | 1973–present | The Japanese-built successor to the Superposed. Very good guns, priced as very good guns rather than as collectibles. |
| Hi-Power | 1935–2018 | The pistol. Belgian production, wartime production and later variants are three quite different markets. |
| BAR (sporting) | 1967–present | The semi-auto hunting rifle, made in Belgium and assembled in Portugal. Perfectly respectable money. |
| Sweet Sixteen | various | A 16-gauge Auto-5 variant with a devoted following, and one of the guns most often underestimated in an estate. |
What to check before anybody makes you an offer
- The country of manufacture, stamped on the barrel or receiver — Belgium, Japan or Portugal.
- On an Auto-5, whether it’s a Sweet Sixteen, and whether the barrel matches the receiver.
- Engraving and grade markings, which on Superposed guns separate several distinct price levels.
- Whether the wood has been refinished, and whether the barrels on a double have been polished thin.
And the two rules that apply to every gun on this page:don’t clean it, and keep the box and papers. Removing original finish is permanent, and on the right gun the packaging is a real fraction of the total.
"It says Browning so it's a Belgian gun"
Browning has had guns built in several countries for over fifty years, and the difference in value is substantial. This isn’t a criticism of the Japanese-built guns, which are excellent — it’s that the market prices them differently, and someone selling a Belgian Superposed as though it were a later Citori is leaving a lot behind.
Where does it say what country it was made in?
Usually on the barrel, in small letters near the chamber, or on the receiver. On Auto-5s look for 'Made in Belgium' or 'Made in Japan'. If you can’t find it, photograph the markings you can see and someone who handles these will place it quickly.
Model by model
- What is my Browning Auto-5 worth? (1902–1998)
- What is my Browning Superposed worth? (1931–1980s)
- What is my Browning Hi-Power worth? (1935–2018)
Getting an actual number
Condition, originality and configuration decide it, and none of the three can be judged from a description. Send photos and we’ll make you an offer, wherever you are in the country. It comes itemized, showing what we’ll pay for each firearm, so you can see how the number is built instead of being handed one figure for the pile.
Related: what determines value on any gun ·how to sell a collection ·you inherited firearms
Worth reading alongside this
Police trade-in guns — department markings and what they do to the value. Engraved guns — factory grade or added later, and why the difference is most of the money. What determines value on any firearm.
Other makers
Winchester, Remington, Colt, Smith & Wesson, Marlin, Ruger, military surplus rifles, Glock, Beretta, Intratec, Savage, Mossberg, Ithaca, Walther and SIG Sauer.