So whats the absolute MAXIMUM you would pay for one of these?
I mean for a really, really nice one.....

Seriously. With today's prices, not what you paid 9 years ago!

i just bought this one:

1918 Lithgow Indian Rework SMLE. In overall Very Good shape. Bore is excellent. Has magazine cuttoff slot in receiver. Comes with tan sling. $125 shipped

http://www.gunboards.com/forums/uploaded/jcrane/200612134340_gunz2%20013.jpg

I paid $269 a year and a half ago for this one and it would be very tough to find another one I would spend as much on.











Full length,











And since I'm showing the collection, the Savage I got from AIM about six monthes ago.

Quoted: So whats the absolute MAXIMUM you would pay for one of these? I mean for a really, really nice one..... Seriously. With today's prices, not what you paid 9 years ago!

The value of a 1942 Lithgow depends on some things.....

Namely, is it an original, unmolested Lithgow? It's EXTREMELY RARE to find a 1940+ Lithgow that hasn't been through the ringer, and been rebuilt many times. They exist, but are not common at all. If you had such an animal on the line, $300+ would not be out of line.

The other (and more likely) scenario is that you're seeing a Jovino Co. parts gun, or a Navy Arms rebuild and while they are nice guns and can be great shooters, they aren't worth what the genuine article are.

Jovino guns are marked JJCO or JVO on the receiver, right in front of the bolt handle. If you see that there, you're not looking at an original Lithgow, and chances are good that it's been restocked without recoil blocks, which is bad if you fire it alot (splits the wood). The most I'd pay for a Jovino gun, even if immaculate, is in the $150 range. Jovino Co. (in NY) built thousands of Enfields from imported parts, and did import some guns complete but were most famous for their rebuilds.

Navy Arms guns should be import marked as such...probably on the nosecap or receiver....they'll also have a parked finish usually.

If you have an original 1942 Lithgow, it may be stocked in Queensland Maple or Coachwood. QM is brittle, open coarsed and reddish/white in color. Coachwood looks a bit like Walnut, fine grain but more open that Walnut. Also, the finish will be Suncorite (a dullish black). If it's gray, parkerized, or deep blued, again it's not an original Lithgow.

Also, pull the rear upper handguard off and see what the barrel says - it should be marked with a Lithgow Star, a date (hopefully same as the gun) and probably MD marked if its original (Military District, as in 2ndMD, or 4thMD). Sometimes these markings are also on the knox form (upper receiver, right above the breech).

Here is my original 1919 Lithgow No1mkIII, in original Queensland Maple to give you a frame of reference (notice, many gouges as pristine ones are rarer than Hensteeth).



Here is a 1941 Jovino Lithgow No1MkII, which has the higher luster blueing that Jovino Co. put on the guns, and a newer stock of mixed woods.

I would go in the $200 to $300 range if it was nice and had some desirable features. The most I have spent on an any Enfield was $150. But I have seen a few that I would have spent more on if I would have had the opportunity.

Thanks Everyone, especially swingset, that info saved me some $$! I knew the rifle had to be a rebuild, but I know next to nothing about Enfields to begin with! (It was a Jovino).

Quoted: Thanks Everyone, especially swingset, that info saved me some $$! I knew the rifle had to be a rebuild, but I know next to nothing about Enfields to begin with! (It was a Jovino).

Glad to be of service. As and Enfield collector, I can't count how many "Unissued" Jovino No1 Lithgows have been bought, sold or prized as something original by the unknowing.

I mean, you could buy a Jovino, and in 10 years pass it off to someone as the real deal and likely you'd get away with it, but it's better to know what you've got and to sell something as legit, I think.

I have 2 Jovino guns, and I like them alot but I also know what they are and that is a gun put together by a NY gunsmith out of a box of Lithgow parts. That doesn't diminish their worth as a shooter, but it doesn't give them any real history, either.....at least not for another 100 years!

Well, I feel kind of bad that I couldn't help out the next sucker who came down the pike....

The Jovino Enfield sold for $375.00!!!!

It does look pretty nice, you have to admit! Thanks AGAIN for the information!