Super Alleige Chrome A5

I am having trouble identifying what class or model my A5 is. I believe it is a Super Alleige Chrome with gold inlay, year 1960, with a Grade 1 detail. The serial numbers are also gold inlay. They are 60 23525. There is also a larger 1 above those serial numbers. If there is anyone that has more information on this then please help me out. Thank you From Australia

Hello Jock, and welcome.

Your shotgun looks to have the Browning Arms Grade 1 engraving that was made standard circa 1938. It was a simplified version of the Grade 2 which was no longer offered. World Market guns, of which yours is one, used a different system. Type I engraving was the equivalent of Browning’s Grade 2.

So your shotgun is a bit of a mystery to me. Also, I’m away from home for a few days so I don’t have access to the Shirley/Vanderlinden book. I’ll check it when I get home but unfortunately it has little to say about the SAC series.

Thanks Rudolph. I have caught the A5 bug. I can only get one on my licence so I wanted to make it a good one. I searched extensively through the East coast of Australia and have not seen anything like it. It makes sense that it is a world market gun, as possible imported from the mother country (England). Most of the A5 info is US based, which is making research much harder. Thankfully there are plenty of A5 lovers out there!

I agree, Information on World Market guns is much harder to get. Even S/V is vague on a lot of details. But you’re ahead of the game if you realize US rules don’t apply.

I found an old thread on Shotgunworld about this series. I guess that was the last time I referenced the book on the subject.

https://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/vi...&p=3979444&hilit=Super allege chrome#p3979444

My A5 doesn’t hold a candle to most of those A5s in the thread! The detail is beautiful. I have asked plenty of dealers on their opinion but I feel that very few people in Australia know about the SAC range. If you find any more info in your S/V book then please pass it on, I am very thankful at what has already been provided though.

I’m convinced that yours is not a Super Allege Chrome. Evidently those had SAC in their serial numbers. And the engraving is not right.

Just what it is, I don’t know. The “1” stamped above the serial number is unusual. It could be from a run of special order Auto-5’s. Or there may have been a series I’m not familiar with. It doesn’t look like the work of a home gunsmith.

Anyway, you’ve got a nice gun!

Congratulations Jock for your nice auto-5. Like Rudolph, I am certain it is not a Super Allégé model. The SAC doesn’t appear in the serial number and the engraving on the receiver doesn’t correspond to the SAC that were marketed.
I would suggest that your gun is a professional restoration or an embellishment project and the the stamped number 1 is the first in a gunsmith’s series. That being said, it is a tastefully done.

Thank you Biz and Rudolph. Yes certainly very tasteful, and for a 60 year old gun in wonderful condition. What would you value it in USD? Just out of interests sake. None the less foxes and pigs will be on notice once I'm in the field.

Well, Biz thinks it’s a project gun. And he knows more about special Auto-5’s than I do. I’ll say that if it is a project, they did a very nice job.

Value; unless you can prove otherwise, it’s a shooter in what appears to be new condition. Auction price would be $900-$1200. If you can prove it’s all factory, and therefore a collectible, you could probably add $500 to that.

Just my guess as my collection is mostly field models.

Yes it is all original parts. Thank you for your estimation. Ill take care of it so it looks just as good in another 60 years.

If it was mine, I will treat it as a collector gun and try to find information to prove it originated from the Fabrique Nationale. There are always gray zones in the the Browning auto-5 production. Here is another example, is that a Browning FN production or a maître graveur from Belgium?

Marc is that beauty yours?

Just the fact that this World Market Gun has US Browning engraving makes it unusual. As far as I know, this simplified Type I was never used anywhere else. Field grade guns had the Browning bust and logo only. That and the well-centered, deeply struck 1 above the serial number make me think it came from the factory like this.

So I like Biz’ advice, to treat it like a collectible, and try to find out more about it. But that wouldn’t stop me from shooting it, especially in a land where you can only have ONE.

It is not, and it is still for sale. The asking price is very steep. That beauty is not in the Browning catalogue, it beg the question, is it a collector piece? If not, the return on the investment will never be there. At best, you may get your money back.

Is that a phone number engraved on the receiver?

It is not,
The engraving shows: Millénaire 980-1980 it was a special auto-5 to celebrate the Millenium of Liège in Belgium. If I had extra cash, I will jump on it.

Where is this treasure, and how much are they asking? Also, is the engraver known, and is there a signature?

The original posters gun serial number is broken down as such:

1- type of engraving
60- year of manufacture
Remaining numbers- serial number

There is not much info regarding these later guns. But that is the conclusion I’ve come to after studying the limited info in the “book” and looking at the ones that have been for sale

That makes sense, but doesn’t it look more like the simplified Type I that Browning offered?

Here’s an actual Type I for comparison.



Of course, the guns are 29 years apart. It could be that FN simplified their Type I and charged extra for what Browning included as standard.