Posted by Tom Archer on February 1, 2017, 4:20 pm, in reply to "Re: L C eagle grade "
Bob The Eagle Grade had been dropped from production long before 1942, and since some serial numbers from the 1913-1918 production period were duplicated in later production, I suspect your Eagle is actually an early post-1913 gun. Guns from that period are often observed with an "E" suffix after the serial number, and no one can say for sure what that stamp denotes; only that it does not necessary mean the gun was ordered with the auto-ejector option. The "E" below the serial number would indicate the grade stamp. Your Eagle, if a 12-bore, could also have been manufactured on a regular or "R" frame; but frame size was not stamped on Smith guns prior to about 1919 as I recall. Note also that Hunter Arms had discontinued the "R" frame prior to 1942 so that all Smith guns from that period were being manufactured using the featherweight or "FW" frame; and all later period Smith guns feature an "FW" prefix in conjunction with the serial number (and those produced under Marlin ownership after 1945 have a "S" added to that prefix so that the prefix reads "FWS"). I hope this info helps some, but you would be well advised to order a letter from Jim Stubbendieck to fully authenticate your Eagle, as Eagles are not very common.