Catalog Auction info Auction #132 - Two-Day Sale, November 20th & 21st (#132) 11/20/2021 9:00 AM EST Closed Starts Ending 11/20/2021 9:00 AM EST Auction Info Lot #90 Exceptional Winchester Model 21 Grand American Two Barrel Set Presented To Henry Ford II On The Occasion of His 50th Birthday Click image to enlarge PreviousNextSimilar Items Lot closed - Sold Price (Including Buyer`s Premium):$27,830 Estimate: $25,000 - $35,000 Description Description: serial #304101, 12 ga., 26” barrels choked improved cylinder and modified and 30” barrels choked improved modified and full, all showing bright excellent bores. This is the iconic Winchester Grand American Model 21 shotgun, in perhaps what is the most versatile combination available, and it was presented to this legendary Detroit auto man who arguably could be said to have saved the Ford Motor Company during a time when Ford’s domestic sales were in decline and their European firms still suffering with war damage (at one point in 1943-44 Ford losing over $10 million a month). “Hank the Deuce” assumed the presidency in September 1945 and immediately took the helm, bringing aboard top executives from GM as well as 10 young “up and comers” that the industry deemed the “whiz kids”, derived from the Army Air Force. Fresh from their logistical challenges of the Second World War, these men updated management control systems, helped control costs, and instituted modern recruitment and career training programs for FOMOCO. Hank II’s aggressive management tactics coupled with his ability to surround himself with the best and brightest in the automotive field rapidly restored the company’s financial health by the mid-1950s and greatly expanded Ford’s operations in overseas markets. It was on his watch that two of the most iconic Ford Motor cars ever produced were unveiled, the upscale Thunderbird, at the Detroit auto show in ‘54 and the forever iconic Mustang at Ford Motor Company’s pavilion at the New York World’s Fair in ‘64. The Mustang set the industry record for sales during the first year with more than 418,000 units sold. At that time General Motors, Chrysler and AMC had nothing to match it, giving Ford a jump on an untapped market. Indeed, for the first time in its history, Ford Motor Company would become a publicly traded company in 1956, under HF2’s leadership. The gun itself was presented to Henry Ford II on the occasion of his 50th birthday in September 1967, in truth it was ordered on that occasion. Factory records show the order being placed September 28th with work commencing in October of that same year, shipping to Nick Kusmit in May 1968 with final inspection being finished later that same month. The “Sold to..” was T.S. Nichols of Olin, in New York City and the “ship to” is none other than Henry Ford II himself in Grosse Pointe Michigan. The factory letters confirm the configuration throughout. The 26” barrels retain all of their original blue showing only some very faint fading, are chambered for 2 3/4” shells, and have sharp damascened engine turning on the undersides and on the face of the barrels showing little discernible wear. The sprays of engraving over the chambers remain crisp and the rib is of course marked “Custom-Built By Winchester for Henry Ford II”. The 30” tubes are identical and feature 3” chambers, with the same crisp engraving and same field within the rib showing for whom this beautiful gun was custom-built. The frame retains all of its original factory blue with lovely open scroll and the engine turning on the water table and standing breech still very crisp, the breech faces showing only light wear from the extractors. The left and right of frame have gold inlaid gun dogs of the beautiful quality Kusmit is known for, along with two pheasant on the belly of the frame, and a dog’s head in vignette on the bow of the triggerguard. “Safe” is inlaid in gold on the upper tang and “Grand American” is inlaid in gold on the lightly engraved steel pistolgrip cap which has a gold inlaid rope border as well; the selective trigger retains essentially all of its gold plate with only very light sharp edge wear. The checkered AA grade American black walnut capped pistolgrip buttstock and both semi beavertail style forends all rate very fine to near excellent showing stunning grain figure in the butt, also with some light crazing of finish that comes from the years and the combination of highly figured wood, primarily near the buttplate and point of comb showing some very light flakes on each of the forends. Neatly affixed to the right side of the butt and verified in the factory letter is a gold presentation plate which reads “Presented To/Henry Ford 2/By His Friends And Directors/In Celebration Of /His 50th Birthday/September 1967”, the oval monogram plate along the toeline as well is engraved “HF II”. The stock and both forearms are checkered in the factory 21B fleur-de-lis pattern, each of the forearms also with the appropriate ebony tip inserts. The forend metal on each remains in the same fine state of condition with beautiful engine turning throughout. The arm is listed with 14 1/4” pitch, 2 1/4” pull and 1 9/16” drop at the heel with a medium comb and the factory “Winchester Recoil Pad Leather Covered Style #2” remains intact and supple. The arm rides in a Winchester factory-provided leather luggage case, also delineated in the factory letter, embossed in black on the lid “HF II”. The interior of the case is a burgundy color and rates excellent with a pair of nickel snap caps and the luggage straps. Both sets of barrels are tight on-face and the arm functions very well mechanically, although after all these years it doubtless could use a good cleaning. An extremely fine shotgun in an extremely fine state of condition belonging to this proud, influential, astute and aggressive businessman who was determined to see the company that bore his forbearers name be brought to, and indeed surpass, its former glory. (3J10074-3) {C&R} (25,000/35,000) Categories: Firearm Terms and conditions TERMS & CONDITIONS OF SALE The following paragraphs represent the terms under which all sales by Amoskeag Auction Company, Inc. are conducted. Bidding on any item in the sale indicates the bidder’s full acceptance and understanding of all terms and conditions of sale. Amoskeag Auction Company, Inc. has taken great care in the preparation of the descriptions in this catalog. Although we believe everything in the descriptions to be true, we do not guarantee any part of any description. We recommend that the bidders view the items in person and form their own opinions as to condition, originality, origin, etc. Amoskeag Auction Company, Inc. will consider all requests for refunds. If a customer is unhappy with a purchase, we will be happy to discuss a remedy with them. All requests for refunds must be made within 30 days of the sale date. Therefore, it is important that absentee bidders pay for their items in a timely fashion. All requests for refunds received after 30 days of the sale date will not be considered. Amoskeag Auction Company, Inc. reserves the right to reject any bid in order to protect our consignor’s interests. PAYMENT POLICY All invoices are payable upon receipt. Amoskeag Auction Company, Inc. will accept cash, check, wire transfer, MasterCard, Visa, Discover and American Express as payment for items purchased. Online payment is available for buyers directly through the online invoicing process. Bidders who fail to pay their invoices in full by the 25th day following the sale agree to have their total invoice amount charged to the credit card listed on file. Credit card purchases are limited to $50,000.00 per customer, per auction. Amoskeag Auction Company, Inc. reserves the right to demand cash or hold merchandise until funds are collected in full. There will be a $35.00 charge for all returned checks. A 17.5% Buyer’s Premium will be added to all purchases regardless of price with a 2.5% discount when paid with check, cash or wire transfer. This premium is to be paid as part of the purchase price. Additionally, the 2.5% cash discount will only apply to invoices paid promptly, within 14 calendar days of the auction. Buyers should be aware of common delays in the mail and if that is a concern they are welcome to call our office to receive wire transfer information. No items are to be removed from our facility until paid for in full by the purchaser. GUIDELINES FOR FIREARM DELIVERIES All Federal, State and Local firearms laws will be strictly adhered to. FFL holders may take possession of any firearm on day of sale (excluding Class III) when they present a signed copy of their Federal Firearms License. If an FFL dealer is sending an “agent” to pick up items, that person must be a bona fide, paid employee of the company with a W4 on file. Outside contractors cannot be used as pickup agents. A SIGNED LETTER FROM THE FFL STATING THIS FACT MUST BE PRESENTED AT TIME OF PICK UP. The FFL Dealer will in turn be notified that a transfer was made to you as their agent. New Hampshire residents over the age of 21 may take possession of any firearm, on day of sale, provided the proper paperwork is completed and the transfer has been approved either through the N.H. State Police or the FBI NICS System, whichever is appropriate based upon the type of firearm(s) purchased. Non-resident individuals from states without waiting periods may take possession of long guns on day of sale after completing the proper forms and successfully completing a NICS check. If you reside in a state with a waiting period, your items will need to be shipped to a dealer in your state. No modern handguns will be delivered to non-resident individuals. All modern handguns purchased by non-resident individuals will need to be delivered to or shipped to an FFL holder in the buyer’s home state. Buyer is responsible for any and all shipping charges and all items must be paid for on day of sale. Bidders should be familiar with their local and state laws as Amoskeag Auction Co., Inc. will not be responsible for any parties purchasing items which may not be possessed in, or shipped to their state of residence. Some states have restrictions on transfers to C&R License holders, study your state and local laws before bidding. If you are the winning bidder of an item that you find does not comply with your state’s laws, you will still be required to pay your invoice, Amoskeag Auction Co. will then re-offer the arm on your behalf. FIREARM CLASSIFICATION: ANTIQUE - no paperwork required MODERN - Post-1898 firearm which requires an FFL or 4473 with corresponding successful background check in order to be delivered. C&R - for firearms that fall under the ATF Curio & Relics licensing and if purchased by a person with a “C&R License” no paperwork is required. NOTE: Items that meet the age requirements but have been altered from their original configuration may NOT be delivered on a C&R License. ABSENTEE/TELEPHONE/ON-LINE BIDDING • As a service to our buyers, Amoskeag Auction Company, Inc. will accept absentee bids from bidders who cannot attend the sale. Bidders without prior credit approval are required to submit a 20% deposit prior to bids being accepted (credit cards may be used for absentee deposits). Absentee bids will be bid in a competitive manner and an absentee bidder needs only to outbid another buyer i.e. bidding will not be opened at the maximum bid unless that is the next competitive bid. Because we do not open at the absentee bidder's top bid (unless that is the next competitive bid) there is a chance that the absentee bidder's bid may tie with a bidder using a different bidding method (live, Proxibid or telephone bidder). If an absentee bidder wishes to guard against this occurring, they may complete an absentee bid form with a "+" after the bid amount and forward that bid sheet to our office to be entered by Amoskeag. When a "+" is added after the bid amount, the bidder authorizes Amoskeag Auction Co., Inc. to make one additional bid in order the break the tie. Buyer is responsible for any and all shipping charges. Properly registered Amoskeag On-line bidders may use this service free of additional charges as an alternative to telephone or absentee bidding, at their election. On-line bidders should be aware that the sale sometimes proceeds at a very rapid pace and should plan their bidding strategies accordingly. • Amoskeag Auction Co., Inc. will not be held responsible for errors or omissions of any type that may occur during these services. • All absentee bids must be received by 8:00pm on the day prior to the auction. If you plan to attend the sale but will not be staying until the end and want to leave a bid on an item that will be sold after you leave, we must have those bids in by 8:00am on the morning of the sale. No bids will be accepted after that time. Please do not call the gallery once the auction has started (after 9:00am) as we will not be able to accept bids or make changes to bids. • Amoskeag Auction Company, Inc. will also accept telephone bids on a limited basis. Telephone bidding is reserved for seriously interested bidders. In order to bid by telephone, the bidder must be willing to pay at least the low estimate of the item being bid on. NOTE: Phone bids MUST be arranged by 5:00pm ON THURSDAY prior to the sale. • All absentee/telephone bidder invoices are issued by end of business on the Tuesday following the sale; all invoices are due upon receipt. Invoices are to be paid either by cash or check, or by credit cards listed above. All items not paid for within 20 business days from sale date shall be considered abandoned as well as any deposit that was made on those items and Amoskeag Auction Company, Inc. shall have sole discretion as to their disposal. SAFETY WARNING Amoskeag Auction Company, Inc. does not warranty the safety of any article it sells. Therefore, it is imperative that, before you use any firearm, purchased here or anywhere else, you have it examined by a qualified gunsmith to determine whether or not it is safe to use. SHIPPING • Amoskeag Auction Company, Inc. will make every effort to ship items in a timely fashion. All items, with the exception of modern handguns, are shipped via UPS Ground unless other arrangements have been made. All merchandise is shipped Signature Required. • All modern handguns are shipped via UPS Next Day Air service. • Buyer is responsible for any and all shipping charges and for insurance on the items being shipped. Purchasers who self-insure can forego insurance charges if Amoskeag Auction is notified of your intent to self-insure. PICKING UP MERCHANDISE • Pickup will be by appointment only. • OUR OFFICE WILL BE CLOSED MONDAY AND TUESDAY FOLLOWING THE SALE. No merchandise will be delivered on those days. We will resume normal business hours on Wednesday. • Our office hours are Monday through Friday - 8:00 am to 4:00pm.
