M1897 Riot- Made in 1899, Seeking Opinions|Winchester Shotguns|Forum|Winchester Collector

Hi all,

I’m new to the forum, I stumbled upon it while researching an interesting Model 1897 I recently acquired. What a great forum you have here! I also connected with Bert H. regarding this shotgun, and I sent him some pictures. He was gracious enough to give me his opinion as to the correctness of the gun. (It is completely correct)

My original concern was that the barrel is marked with the model designation (Model 1893). Barrel is also marked 12 and CYL. I inquired with Cody and got the data sheet and it indicates it shipped with a 20" barrel on May 20, 1899. So the conclusion is that Winchester was using up the last Model 1893 Riot barrels on the early 1897s.

I’m having some difficulty in deciding what to do with this one. I’m not a hardcore Winchester collector, though I do keep some nicer investment grade Winchesters, mostly pre-1899. I primarily collect WWII weapons however, especially German. I do buy and sell quite a few guns, and it would be interesting to have a general idea of what kind of money this shotgun is worth in today’s market. I have a rough estimate in mind, but it is hard to find anything else like this one to compare it to. Is this a more rare configuration? How desirable is it really?

I think the condition is probably too good to be used as a cowboy action shooter. It’s probably not the clearest in my (poor) pictures, but the original blued finish is 80+% in my opinion, others have said it’s even more. The wood is not cracked anywhere and shows no evidence of refinishing, few minor dings. No rust or pitting anywhere on or in the gun. Few scratches to the metal, some minor high edge wear where it would be expected, and a little wear from cycling the action. All screws unturned/un-buggered. Serial number is 74164.

So what do you guys think? Thanks!!