I am in the process of restoring a thoroughly worn 12 gauge GH on a 1 1/2 frame. The barrels are a bit off face, the stock dark with oil, the checkering almost smooth, and the surface finishes all but gone. But other than the loose action, it is fully functional, in original configuration, never had a screw turned, and it has nice bores, making it a candidate for restoration. When I pulled the butt plate off, I saw this. The last three digits of the serial number written with some sort of marker...back in 1896! And still perfectly legible today. One hundred and nineteen years ago, before the world wars, before the advent of communism and fascism, before the Titanic was launched, before the Spanish American war, before the airplane and automobile became common, and before this gun shot countless shells and traversed endless miles in the hands of generations of hunters--perhaps all from the same family-- some long dead and forgotten worker at Parker Brothers in Meriden, Connecticut picked up a marker and wrote the last three digits of the serial number of this gun on the butt of the stock to make sure it would be fitted up to the right frame.
I just thought that was kind of cool.
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