Most of the metal has been refinished, but the barrels don't appear to have been reblued. Unfortunately whoever did it did it wrong. The top-lever and safety slide should have also been color case hardened. Also, for that period, the forearm iron should have been nitre blued, as should the trigger guard. The top-lever, safety slide, trigger guard and triggers appear to have been hot blued. the triggers should have been left bright. After The Great War, when A.H. Fox Gun Co. went to cyanide color case hardening, then forearm irons were color case hardened. The wood appears to have been very properly refinished.

The 12-gauge 30-inch barrel, Sterlingworth Standard is far and away the most common of A.H. Fox shotguns and unless in very high original condition, it is hard to get over $1000 for one. This one incorrectly refinished more in the $600 to $750 range.

 

Sterlingworths are all over the map -- anywhere from about $400 to as much as $1,200 for a 12 gauge. The determining factors are condition, originality and the number of leather chairs and wooden bookcases at the seller's location.

BTW, Sterlingworth's are great guns. They were the plain-Jane, basic/economy model but, internally, they are identical to higher grade Fox shotguns. A number of knowledgeable people believe the Fox shotgun was the best American-made double ever. It's certainly one of the better ones. If you've ever thought of owning a double gun to shoot, you could do a lot worse.

The recoil pad hurts the value some (at least it would for me) but it looks like a nice, usable gun. Have somebody measure the chambers for you. If they're short, you'll need to use appropriate shells or have the gun opened up. BTW, Winchester AA shells are on the short side so you may be just fine using those -- especially their low-recoil version. Otherwise, buy a flat of RST 2-1/2 shells.