Miller, I looked at my 7 D and O Excelsior D.M. Lefever crossbolt guns, and both are boxlock actions. The 7 D has a 103x serial number and is marked D.M. Lefever ans Sons and Co. The O Excelsior has a 168x serial number and is marked D.M. Lefever and Co.
The Damascus tubes on the 7 D have "Damascus" engraved on one tube and "Steel" engraved on the other. The only other mark I can find besides the serial number is the aforementioned SD&G stamp on the bottom of one barrel. Robert Elliot says most crossbolts have fluid steel barrels, and one with Damascus is a scarce variation of an already rare commodity.
The fluid steel tubes on my O Excelsior have only the serial number on the bottom left tube, and each barrel has a single letter "S" about an inch forward of the barrel flats.
For Jtplumb, there are no proof marks anywhere on either gun. The only marks on the water tables is the serial number. I say "water table" in the hope Dr. Wanker sees it and pops an aneurysm.
GSPWillie, I searched everywhere for a grade stamp on my higher grade D.M. Lefever gun. As I said, it has a semi-pistol grip, so there is no grip cap to look under. It does have a recoil pad which I have not removed. Strangely, there is a fairly thin black spacer between the pad and the wood which has a spur or widow's peak on top at the heel. It is perfectly fitted and inletted, but I don't know if this was original. I thought of the possibility that someone might have sanded the original buttplate flat, and used that as a spacer between the wood and pad, so as to add LOP without having a void to fill where the spur is. I had read that some unmarked guns might have the grade written in pencil under the trigger guard tang so I also lifted that, and found nothing. I call it a 7 D strictly on the style and amount of engraving coverage, the amount of figure in the stock, and the checkering. Of course I made these comparisons from the photos in Robert Elliot's books, and the few I've seen for sale since I bought it.
