[Ned Fall]

Your gun is what is referred to as a "Trade Brand Name"shotgun. A "Trade Brand Name" shotgun is one that was made by a major maker (and before 1940) for and was sold by a wholesale sporting goods dealer, a retail chain store or an independent retailer who chose the name to go on the gun. Guns with the name AMERICAN GUN COMPANY and AMERICAN GUN CO. (you say COMPANY and the picture shows CO.) were both made by the Crescent Fire Arms Company of Norwich,CT (1892 to 1931). Guns with the name AMERICAN GUN COMPANY were made for and sold by Sears Roebuck of Chicago,Il and those with the name AMERICAN GUN CO. (abbreviated ) were made for and sold by the Supplee Biddle Hardware Company of Philadelphia a wholesale sporting goods dealer. There is no problem with the serial number. Crescent serial numbers were all in sequence no matter who the gun was made for and serial number 354555 was made in 1916. Value? Everyone wants to know. "Trade Brand Name" shotguns were inexpensive (read cheap) even when new selling for $15 to $25 and they haven't appreciated that much since. Value will depend on the guns condition, the amount of original finish remaining on the metal and wood as well as the mechanical condition. A prime condition example that appears to have come out of the factory yesterday afternoon might bring as much as $125 while a rusty rotten piece of junk that a salvage yard wouldn't accept without major repairs might bring as little as $10 for parts. Most I have seen sold on the various gun auction sites have sold for between $50 and $95. CAUTION!!! The gun is almost 100 years old and was made using the technology and metallurgy of the times when it was made and for the ammunition in use back then which was either black powder or very early low pressure smokeless powder and lead shot loaded 2 1/2 inch shells. They were not designed for more modern high pressure smokeless powder and steel shot loaded 3 inch or magnum shells. While the gun may be still fired if in a good mechanical condition and using appropriate ammo if examined by a good competent gunsmith and OK'd, I can't recommend it.

 

[Ned Fall]

Additional information: If the gun is named AMERICAN GUN COMPANY OF NEW YORK or AMERICAN GUN COMPANY N.Y. all the previous information still applies but the seller was the H & D. Folsom Company of New York, New York a large wholesale and retail sporting goods dealer. Incidentally H & D Folsom owned Crescent Fire Arms Company and what ever Folsom wanted Crescent made and what they wanted was a lot of inexpensive (read cheap) shotguns fast.

 

[Ned Fall]

Crescent Fire Arms Company of Norwich,Ct existed fro 1892 to 1938 and perhaps later. It was owned by H & D Folsom Company of New York City from 1893 to 1930 when it was sold to a subsidiary of the Savage Arms Company called Savage Products Distributing who continued to make shotguns with the Crescent name. Folsom, a large wholesale and retail sporting goods dealer and gun jobber bought Crescent to supply it with inexpensive shotguns. And they did that very well making over 2,500,000 shotguns of all types using over 650 known "Trade Brand Names". Folsom claimed in their catalogs that they made the guns. Folsom did not have any manufacturing facilities other than the Crescent Plant in Norwich but I guess they could make that claim since they owned the factory. Most writers and researchers including my self credit all those names to Crescent AMERICAN GUN CO, AMERICAN GUN CO OF NEW YORK and AMERICAN GUN COMPANY OF N.Y. were names used by Folsom on guns they sold. I have no idea how they determined what name was used and when, on which gun.