Posted by SGT on April 9, 2007, 8:57 pm, in reply to "lc smith 20 ga."
Without personally being able to handle and examine the gun, looking for subtle clues in the process, no one can definately verifty the authenticity of gun grade in this instance. Here is what I suggest, have a gunsmith remove the lockplates (make sure he's a real gunsmith, as you do not want to burr screw slots!). With the left-side lockplate removed, check for the grade stamp (it will be located in the narrow portion of the lock-plate cut beneath the water table). If the stamp is clearly "2E", then you have an "authentic" upgrade, and one may then argue as much as one wishes regarding the nature of the up-grade (after-market, employee gun, factory re-do, etc); but such a gun, though very attractive, will always have less value than an original Grade 5E 20-bore Smith, which is rare. Also, without knowing the full history of the gun, any/all speculation constitutes nothing more than theory; as whatever was received in the Cody letter is all the recorded information that remains for this serial number. Given my admittedly small understanding of Smith guns, my bet, based on the limited information provided herein, is that the gun represents an upgrade fitting one of the as yet undetermined categories noted above. I make this conclusion based on the grade over-stamp (have not observed something that sloppy on a high-grade Smith), and barrel steel type (I have seen Grade 5 guns with Damascus, Nitro steel, which is standard; and Krupp and Whitworth steels, but not with the Crown steel that is standard for Grade 2 and 3 Smith guns). At the same time however, I won't fully elimiate the possibilty of a Grade 5 with Crown steel barrels, as anything is possible with Smith guns, but do think that possibilty would be much higher on an earlier vintage gun than a late example such as this. Going back to my earlier thought on the frame stamp, records errors are made occassionally due to the fact that ledger entries were hand writtenm, have deterioated over time, and are thus hard to read. I actually know of one instance where a collector got a "deal" on a genuine A-3 Grade because the handwritten "3" entry on the shipping ledger page was faded and interpreted as a "2" when in actuality it was a "3". It is remotely possible in this case that the ledger entry interpreted as a "2" is actually a "5" (there is some similarity, especially when hand-written). If the frame stamp is revealed to be "5E", the gun is authentic and original, and all speculation ends immediately (and we can correct the record). If the frame stamp is revealed to be "2E", then you have confirmed my personal conclusion; and the gun should be fairly represented from that time forward for what it actually is, a well-done upgrade of unknown lineage.