Doc Drew pretty much covered the gamut of barrel steels used/offered by Syracuse Arms as described in late period SAC catalogs published after 1901; but I've found almost nothing in terms of factory literature for the very early Hollenbeck gun period, so who can say definitively what barrels steels (other than Twist and Damascus) were used during that era. In fact, barrel steel type was generally not marked on SAC barrels before sn8XXX (I've yet to see an example anyway). The gun in the NRA link is, as Daryl has indicated, an early Grade B gun; it is engraved in the typical early Grade B style (no game scenes, all scroll and border work), and the only thing remarkable about that gun (other than condition) is that it is a "live bird" gun and the only SAC gun I've come across to date ordered w/o a safety slide. Maybe Dr. Drew can/will post more information; but in reading some of his posts on period pigeon shoots, apparently one intrepid soul competed in those great turn of the century pigeon shoots using a SAC gun (maybe this is that gun?).
From my observations, the early Grade A (like the example on GB) and the early Grade B SAC guns have the same Damascus barrel pattern (unlike Doc Drew I'm not expert in reading Damascus patterns); and there is no difference between those grades with the exception of engraving coverage. By the time the 1901 catalog was issued, the engraving pattern on the SAC Grade B gun had changed so that it no longer featured 100% border and scroll work; it now featured scroll and border work with pointing dogs on each side of the frame, and game scene on the trigger guard bow. This late B style featured a pointer on the left side of the frame and a setter on the right (I think?); and I've seen no variation on that style except that on two examples the dogs are engraved so that one is pointing towards the muzzles, and the other towards the shooter (a neat twist I thought). The 1901 catalog listed the retail price of the B Grade with this new engraving pattern at $125, the same cataloged price of the early style 100% scroll engraved Grade B it replaced; but that price had jumped to $175 by the time the 1902 catalog burst on the scene. And with the introduction of the new B Grade engraving style, Damascus barrel steel was upgraded also from "Fine Quality Damascus" to "Finest Grade Damascus" (Grade C and D SAC guns from the same period were furnished with "Finest Grade of Damascus Steel of very fine figure, fully warranteed; and upon request, "the finest Grade of Damascus Steel Barrels that can be Obtained"). The two late period Grade B SAC guns I've owned (and others I've seen) had very finely figured Damascus patterns that Buck Hamlin described as "hard English Damascus" because he learned in the browning process that these SAC tubes had a very high steel content; again I don't claim to know beans about Damascus barrel steels, so I'm merely repeating what I was told.
All the early period Grade B guns I've seen featured the same engraving and coverage as the NRA gun; and were cataloged priced at $125 in early catalogs. These early SAC catalogs made no mention of SAC Grades higher than Grade B, and I've found no examples of early Grade C or D SAC guns (1896 to 1900) to contradict those catalogs. In fact, I've found a 1901 article stating that it was good to have the Syracuse Arms Company back in the high-grade gun business after an absence of many years. In the early Hollenbeck marked guns, I've found examples of Grade 0, 1, 2, 3, and D; all Grade D guns were engraved differently (and some had a number stamp by the grade stamp for which I don't have a good theory as to its meaning), but I've never found a Hollenbeck marked SAC gun grade stamped A, B, or C. I've found two Grade C Syracuse marked SAC guns with low 4-digit numbers, but both examples had late production features (I'll finish an article at some point on one of those guns, and that example could not have been manufactured until late 1903 when the sliding cocking hook feature was introduced). Damascus barrels of differing qualities were always cataloged SAC gun grades from Grade 2 up thru Grade C; Whitworth was always cataloged as standard on late Grade D guns, with Damascus barrels being optional. On Grades A, A-1, B, and C; Krupp barrels were always cataloged as optional. I've seen several Grade A guns with Krupp barrels, one Grade C gun with Krupp; but have yet to see a single example of the Grade B SAC gun with Krupp barrels. Improved Damascus (the SAC barrel steel photo posted by Doc Drew above) was the only cataloged barrel steel ever available on the Grade 3 gun; but I've seen two Grade 3 examples with factory installed Krupp barrels during the past two years. All high grade guns depicted inside SAC's largest and most comprehensive 1902 and 1903 factory catalogs feature Damascus barrels. The most beautiful SAC guns I've ever seen are early production examples, both are marked "THE HOLLENBECK"; and I can't decide which I like best. At first glance one would think SAC gun no.180 was a 12-bore but it is actually a very light weight 10-bore 30" Hollenbeck gun grade-stamped "D3" that I featured in the DGJ about 2 years ago; it is a beautiful example with very early cosmetic features that weren't available later on, and a gun that remains in outstanding original condition. The second gun in my personal "tie" is Paul's Hollenbeck gun that I featured years ago in the DGJ. That gun is in the 2XXX range and grade stamped "D". As I recall it featured 9 different game scenes (more than any SAC gun I've ever seen), beautifully figured English walnut with a factory Monte Carlo comb, and still in very high condition. The most interesting SAC gun I've ever seen has no serial number, no patent date stamps; and has features that never went into gun production. A depiction of this fascinating gun was first featured in the 1895 edition of the City of Syracuse directory (and much later in the DGJ); and I believe that gun to be the prototype gun that was built by Frank Hollenbeck himself It's finding SAC nuances such as some of these noted here that keep the study of the SAC gun interesting for me. And as FYI, I've recently discovered a new variation of SAC's late model sliding cocking hook feature; a very interesting variation to me, and something I'll try to share at some point soon. I've obviously gotten carried away and apologize for the length of this post; but do hope some of this information was helpful and/or interesting.
