.404 Jeffery Price 1907

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I was looking around and happened to see an old post somewhere that lists the original selling price on a specific 1907 .404 Jeffery as 25 Pounds. I think that's about $3,600 USD Today. I didn't see any extra scroll work or gold on the rifle in question. Looked like a No. 1 with Double Set Triggers (Not sure what that added in 1907).

Anyone want to point me to the line for the introductory price?
 
Thanks. I enjoyed reading right through the thread again. Like you I would stand in line for one of those at that price.
 
Labor was cheap and life was simpler. Inflation still happened. But while you can do a simple inflation calculator for 1907 vs today, It is hard to judge how much money that actually was. Compared to today, I would wager that 25 pounds was a painful amount of money for all but the very wealthy to separate with. You have to understand that a GBP was actually called a "pound sterling." which would indicate its value at the time it was introduced (in the middle ages). Now granted, a pound of sterling silver even in 1907 cost more than a single GBP, but the system was largely still based on precious metals. So the value was actually in the coinage which means that it didn't lose value the way that "paper gov't backed" bills do today.

Then you would need to know what the the average man spent everyday or every week on necessities. According to some research I just quickly did, most laborers in Great Britain at the turn of the 20th century made between 20 to 80 GBP per year depending on your skill set.

here are some of the facts about everyday expenses in 1906:

17 Shillings, 6 Pence - average weekly earnings for farm worker in 1906 (about 44 GBP/ yr.)
Rent - 1 shilling 6 pence
3 lbs. of Sugar - 5-1/2 pence
1/2 lb. of tea - 8 pence
1-1/2lbs. of butter - 1 shilling 6 pence
1 pint of beer - 2 pence
2 oz tobacco - 6 pence

So the cost of a good Jeffrey rifle back then cost the same as 750 pounds of loose tea. It is unfair to measure it against sugar because its cost fluctuates wildly until the middle of the 30s or 40s due to logistical and shipping costs as did a lot of the other things on that list, but tea is pretty stable because it is grown in the colonies, is simply farmed and dried.

so 750 lbs of tea in 1906 cost 25 GBP. In 2018, the cheapest I could find good English black tea was about $15 a pound. So that puts your Jeffrey rifle somewhere around $11,250. Still a steal, but according to that figure, which is likely not a true representation because tea is probably cheaper to make today because of machinery, the rifle was quite a bit more expensive. I would wager it was well out of the average working mans budget unless he used it to make a living, such as an African White Hunter. Probably somewhere in the $25,000-$50,000 range today. It is very hard to gauge.

Sorry that was kind of long winded. I really got into it and I love history.
 
I have seen two new .404 Jeffery rifles in the last couple of years. They were around $36000 to $38000. Actually made through H&H I believe.
 
Labor was cheap and life was simpler. Inflation still happened. But while you can do a simple inflation calculator for 1907 vs today, It is hard to judge how much money that actually was. Compared to today, I would wager that 25 pounds was a painful amount of money for all but the very wealthy to separate with. You have to understand that a GBP was actually called a "pound sterling." which would indicate its value at the time it was introduced (in the middle ages). Now granted, a pound of sterling silver even in 1907 cost more than a single GBP, but the system was largely still based on precious metals. So the value was actually in the coinage which means that it didn't lose value the way that "paper gov't backed" bills do today.

Then you would need to know what the the average man spent everyday or every week on necessities. According to some research I just quickly did, most laborers in Great Britain at the turn of the 20th century made between 20 to 80 GBP per year depending on your skill set.

here are some of the facts about everyday expenses in 1906:

17 Shillings, 6 Pence - average weekly earnings for farm worker in 1906 (about 44 GBP/ yr.)
Rent - 1 shilling 6 pence
3 lbs. of Sugar - 5-1/2 pence
1/2 lb. of tea - 8 pence
1-1/2lbs. of butter - 1 shilling 6 pence
1 pint of beer - 2 pence
2 oz tobacco - 6 pence

So the cost of a good Jeffrey rifle back then cost the same as 750 pounds of loose tea. It is unfair to measure it against sugar because its cost fluctuates wildly until the middle of the 30s or 40s due to logistical and shipping costs as did a lot of the other things on that list, but tea is pretty stable because it is grown in the colonies, is simply farmed and dried.

so 750 lbs of tea in 1906 cost 25 GBP. In 2018, the cheapest I could find good English black tea was about $15 a pound. So that puts your Jeffrey rifle somewhere around $11,250. Still a steal, but according to that figure, which is likely not a true representation because tea is probably cheaper to make today because of machinery, the rifle was quite a bit more expensive. I would wager it was well out of the average working mans budget unless he used it to make a living, such as an African White Hunter. Probably somewhere in the $25,000-$50,000 range today. It is very hard to gauge.

Sorry that was kind of long winded. I really got into it and I love history.

This is a complicated issue. Standard of Living has went up. If all items went up commensurately you would have no increase in the standard of living. I believe it's primarily due to increases in productivity. If you take adcantadv of this like mass market manufacturers your prices come down. If you do things the old way and even increase your level of fit and finish in base models your price will increase (a 1907 No. 1 appears to be a lower line rifle than anything made today. Luxury goods always come at a premium. Im just glad we live in a world where we have these choices
 
Keep in mind to the best of my knowledge Jeffery never made a rifle they sold rifles mfg. by others under the Jeffery name. I know where there is what I believe to be a original Jeffery for sale at the moment. Owner claims it has the original stock, I do not think so. I will try to get some pictures to post this one sure is not much of a rifle. We did not get down to a price as I knew it was something that I did not want.
 
At that time - 1907 - a Purdey best 12 ga. shotgun cost about 100 BPS. Same gun today is over $150,000. I recall that as late as the 1950s a new Purdey cost about $2000 in the USA. Today, a decent condition used PurdeySLE will start at $30,000 and go up rapidly depending on vintage, condition, and specifications. For a gun with an interesting provenance, prices could be much higher.
 
The following is the ledger information I got back on a Jeffery. Gives some costing information. This may be the information you mentioned seeing in your initial post.


W.J.Jeffery

Caliber .404 Jeffery
Hair trigger
Mauser action
Horn cap
24" Krupp barrel
Sights from 100 to 500 yards (spring leaves)
Pistol grip with trap in heel
Scroll engraving
Sling eyes
Date of manufacture (completion) 18th June, 1907
Cost to manufacture ï½£13-11-0 (thirteen pounds and eleven shillings)
Selling price ï½£25-0-0 (twenty five pounds)
 

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