Truly Stunning Factory Phil Coggan Signed, Exhibition Quality Deep Relief Big Five Game Scene Master Engraved, and Gold Inlaid J. Purdey & Sons .500 Nitro Express Sidelock Dangerous Game Double Rifle

Completed on July 20, 2007, as confirmed by Purdey, this stunning James Purdey & Sons sidelock double rifle is an exhibition-quality modern masterpiece and a rare opportunity for the serious collector to acquire a .500 Nitro Express Purdey without the usual multi-year wait. The makers list it as “A Sidelock Double Rifle” weighing 12 lbs. 6 3/4 oz., with 24-inch barrels chambered in .500 Nitro Express weighing 7 lbs. 1 oz. and a 14 1/2-inch stock, and further note Phil Coggan engraving/carving and gold inlay, a square bar with bolted safety, stock inlaid with “R.M.L” in gold, a 1/4 rib with express sights for 50 and 100 yards, 3rd grip and sideclips, spring-bladed front trigger, beaded-edge trigger guard, silver finish, full pistol grip with engraved pistol grip cap, top strap extension, full carved metal buttplate, and folding front shroud with moon sight. Built by one of Britain’s most celebrated gunmakers, whose fine gunmaking tradition spans more than 200 years from flintlock to percussion and into the cartridge era, this rifle is an absolute showpiece and a superb example of Purdey’s reputation for combining advanced function with world-class artistry. The steel chopperlump barrels feature a ramped beaded blade front sight with flip-up moon bead and removable sliding hood with gold-inlaid lines at the front and rear, a sling swivel on the under rib, and a two-leaf rear express sight, one standing and one folding, with a gold-inlaid centerline, regulated for 50 and 100 yards and mounted on the raised rear quarter rib. The quarter rib is extensively engraved with deep relief scrollwork surrounding “.500 NITRO” ahead of the rear sight and “J. PURDEY & SONS. LONDON, ENGLAND.” behind it, both inlaid in fine gold, with matching 1 1/4-inch wedges of scroll engraving at each breech; the rifle also bears correct 2003-dated London nitro proof marks and is fitted with automatic ejectors. The barrels are joined to a coin-finished Beesley patent self-opening, sideclipped, pinless sidelock action with third fastener, profusely decorated in full-coverage deep carved scrollwork matching the barrels and enhanced with gold-inlaid accents extending across the toplever, trigger guard, and both extended tangs, with the serial number inlaid in gold on the lower tang. The engraving frames gold-inlaid “PURDEY” signatures on both bolsters and seven exceptional carved game scenes depicting Africa’s “Big Five,” five of them rendered in relief gold: a lion bust on the left fence, a leopard bust on the right fence, a pair of male lions bringing down a wildebeest on the left lockplate, a pair of black rhinoceros on the underside, a herd of four cow and calf elephants on the right lockplate, a Cape buffalo on the toplever, and another elephant on the trigger guard. The rifle is signed “P. COGGAN” on the triggerplate at the front of the trigger guard, identifying the work of legendary English Master Engraver Phil Coggan and elevating this piece into the realm of firearms art. Mechanically and ergonomically, it includes bushed firing pins, double triggers with an articulated front trigger, a right-hand rolled trigger guard, and a tang-mounted manual safety with extra bolted safety, both with gold-inlaid indicators. The furniture is equally magnificent, with a honey-colored, highly figured, multi-point checkered forend fitted with matching engraved and gold-accented iron surrounding a gold-inlaid “J. PURDEY & SONS” signature and an Anson button release, while the full pistol grip stock shows the same exceptional figure and adds deep teardrop carved drop points, a coin-finished relief-carved grip cap depicting a male and female lion, a shadowline cheekpiece, rear sling swivel, “RML” inlaid directly into the wood in gold, and a coin-finished buttplate fully carved in relief with a dramatic scene of two lionesses bringing down a Cape buffalo. Rarely offered publicly, this .500 Nitro Express Purdey double rifle combines dangerous-game authority, impeccable British craftsmanship, documented maker details, Phil Coggan artistry, gold-inlaid Big Five engraving, and extraordinary presentation quality, making it a centerpiece-level acquisition for any world-class sporting arms collection.