The A Grade is etched for the most part, not hand engraved. The Paragon is hand engraved by Frank Mason. I have seen his signature on a Paragon in that serial no. range. Actually the serial numbers of the two guns are not close. The A and B grades used a series from 1 to about 7000 from 1892 to about 1908. The Paragon and higher grades used a separate series of serial numbers from 100 [maybe lower but I have not seen any] to about 1160 from 1894-1911. After that, the serial numbering of the Paragons could be anywhere from 38,000-52,000 until 1919. A and B grades stopped using etching decoration about serial no. 2900. After that the A and B were hand engraved by Frank Mason , but the coverage was less than on the etched guns.
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