This Model 97 is another example. The serial number puts it in the 1st year of production, 1905-1906. However, the patent date on the rib suggests it either was made out of sequence or it was sent back and given a new set of barrels. So many questions...
Pete
Pete, I realized something and then went back to the Sears catalogs to confirm. Sears didn't offer an Aubrey/Meriden hammer gun until the Spring of 1908 catalog.....in fact, the 1908 ad specifically mentions that it was the first time they produced a hammer gun. So I think that would explain low serial numbers in conjunction with the 1907 patent on the rib. Also, the ad seems to imply that the barrels are interchangable with the hammerless doubles.
