Proof marks and serial numbers are the easy way to tell what is an antique. As some recent clients of Holt's have found out, having an antique shipped directly to you is not always easy nor cheap. One board member here, a client of mine that I import for out of the UK found out his gun was at customs ready to be cleared. The thing he was not expecting was customs required him to hire a broker to clear the antique due to the value of the gun. By the time you pay shipping, brokerage etc it really starts to add up.
