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 is not the model — it is which country built it. That is stamped on the gun, and almost nobody 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 are 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 perfectly good guns, and they are not priced like the Belgian ones. The country of manufacture is marked on the barrel or receiver, and reading it is 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 frequently 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 is 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:do not 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 is not a criticism of the Japanese-built guns, which are excellent — it is that the market prices them differently, and somebody selling a Belgian Superposed as though it were a later Citori is leaving a great deal 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 cannot find it, photograph the markings you can see and somebody who handles these will place it quickly.
Getting an actual number
Condition, originality and configuration decide it, and none of the three can be judged from a description. We appraise firearms, collections and estates across Michigan and the Great Lakes region, free and with no obligation — you get a written list with a value against each firearm and it is yours to keep whether you sell to us or not.
Related: what determines value on any gun ·how to sell a collection ·you inherited firearms
Other makers
Winchester, Remington, Colt, Smith & Wesson, Marlin, Ruger and military surplus rifles.