doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Dyslexic serial number from Lefever?

This is an Ithaca assembled Lefever. The serial numbers from that group of guns are all over the place. The original Lefevers didn't put the grade on the barrels. It is quite possible those barrels weren't used on a gun by the original company because of the mistake, or the second number was stamped to match the frame by Ithaca.

Interesting Dr. Bob, although the first sounds more likely doesn't it? If they stamped the other number later and it just happened to almost match... what a coincidence that would have been. Although we'll never know will we?

In general, are Ithaca-assembled guns held at a lower value than those assembled by the original company? The difference in Philly and Utica Sterlingworths come to mind.

Shane

If the bbl finish is original,,I'd guess the 55407H number is the first to have been applied of the two number stampings on the bbls.
That number has soft solder in the stamp impressions and the impressions has it's raised imprint filed or polished flat with the bbl surface.
That tells me the stamp was on the tube when it was assembled along with the ribs & soldered together.
Then the assembly cleaned up of excess solder before the finish applied.

The other number (55470) looks to have been stamped into the surface before the finish applied (in the white), and after any soldering work was done (no run over solder in the impressions) and also no polishing down of the raised portion of the imprint(s) was done after it was stamped.

The different sets of stamps used on the bbl numbers has already been noted.


55470 on the frame and forend was done with yet a different set of stamps than the 55470 on the bbl.

Just observations of the stampings themselves,,I don't have any idea of how/when Lefever (or Ithaca) marked the bbls and parts during mfg & assembly.

I had an E grade XX frame 16ga Lefever that not only had an dyslexic serial number anomoly but the name Lefever was mispelled on the frame. That gun was death on quail. I traded it off to another member here for a Parker...Geo

Gun was built on Monday morning.

In Detroit?

Not a double gun, but I once owned an H&R Model 999 Sportsman that had most of the major parts serial numbered. On a couple of them, the last two digits were reversed (71 instead of 17 - why would I remember that, anyway?). Since the stampings lined up so well, I always assumed that the group of numbers went into a holder and the holder had been dropped or the numbers had fallen out and been replaced improperly. Not that it matters, but Lefever wasn't the only company with this happening from time to time.

Ithaca assembled guns aren't necessarily less valuable than the original Lefever Arms Co guns because all of the parts were made by the LAC (except the stocks)before the takeover by Ithaca. Ithaca assembled some very fine guns. They also assembled mismatched and factory upgraded guns.

I have an E grade with ejectors, an 1898 build,. there is no E for ejector on the water table, the tang serial is 20,XXX, while the barrels, water table, and forearm all sport 26,XXX, same last three numbers.

FYI, I bought this gun today for $650. There is more case coloring than I thought there would be and after a simple oil wipe down the contrast on the damascus bbls is really very nice. It's a neat piece. Not sure if I'll turn it around and sell it or hang onto it for a bit. I'll post some better photos in a bit. It's a pretty neat original gun.