By the time Marlin bought out L.C.Smith in 1945, most of the craftsman were retired or had passed away. The colors on these L.C. Smiths are more vibrant than on the earlier guns it seems.
When Marlin re-introduced the L.C.Smith in 1968, their first attempts on case hardening were awful, and many receivers and side plates were ruined. Seems no one had copied down the formula for doing such as now there was no one left from the "old school" to tell them how.
The checking on this gun looks to be pointed, and I believe that the Field Grade and Ideal Grade had "flat top checking" which would be the correct style from the inception. The lpi would be 16.
