A scant 3 yrs. ago I hadn't read the Sherman Bell articles in DGJ and I didn't know this site existed. I was still in the dark about Damascus guns and generally avoided them, saving my sheckels for fluid steel shooters. I went to a gun show, one of the few I attended without a Bluebook in hand. Saw a big kid walking with a gun in a case and asked if it might be a double. He pulled out a Lefever saying he knew nothing about it and had been told by several dealers it was worth $350 to $425. It was very nice but the Star Damascus barrels turned me off and I chose not to pay that much for a wall-hanger. I wasn't sure of the grade. It had the scalloped receiver bottom, a single clover engraved on the breech balls, and the rebated rear portion on the sideplates. I said I'd think about it and about 3 minutes later I decided to buy it. This kid was about 6'6" with bright red hair and I couldn't find him. I ran outside hoping to catch him in the parking lot, but no luck. It got worse when I got home and got my Elliot Lefever book out. I'm all but certain it was a B grade, almost identical to the one on pg. 212 that was owned by Grover Cleveland. Thanks for dredging up this rotten memory.
