In my photos one will notice the fore end wood does not latch flat against the top wood. I wonder if this is a problem that goes beyond looks and affects function? Everything worked well with strong ejectors, cocking indicators work, and tight as a bank vault but I don't want to put money into a gun that needs work (which I seem to do every time).

Don't want to hijack the thread, but these stories of WWII "adopted orphans" always makes me recall the puzzlement of my dad's story of trying to return home with war trophies. He always told me that he had a half duffle of Lugers etc that he tried to bring home, but he and his entire unit finally dumped them before debarkation due to the constant hassle they were given over them. I never understood this after the constant stories I heard from other GI's.

A couple of years ago I finally found a clue on a genealogy site. I ran across a listing that showed him as a 1945 immigrant into New York! I found a flight manifest showing his name, rank, serial number (all correct) along with names of his service mates I recognized. He was drafted in July 1940 in the first peacetime draft, due to muster out Dec 15, 1940. He actually was discharged in late 1945. Due to his age and experience, he was placed in a group called the Persian Gulf Command. They included about 300 men, and their commander reported directly to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. No line command at all. This was due to the political nightmare of the operation with the Russians, US, and British all jockeying for postwar position and the tenuous stability of the Shah's relatively new monarchy. They were tasked with operating the suppley rail system to move lend lease supples to Russia. He served in Persia until near the end of the war and spent the last few months in a holding pattern in Marseilles. My only conclusion was that the entire command consisted of only a few plane loads of people. They were not attached to any Army or Division and so not included in the return plans of anyone. The simple solution was apparently to fly them home into a civilian airport where they were required to go through customs. That was likely the issue leading to the disposal of all the war trophies. He always told me he hated flying, but he never mentioned this occasion, which was probably the only flight in his life. One of the great regrets of my life was that I never found out in time that after his death in 1980, the Russian govenrment created a series of Presidential medals which were presented to the members of the Command at a White House ceremony. They were given to the survivors and their families but many were not informed because the records of most army veterans of the period were destroyed in the massive fire at the records center in St Louis.

great storey my hats off to men like your father....charlie

The gun in question is what I know as a 200E. The 201E in the catalog picture looks identical to a 200E. What is the difference? I don't know. Maybe the engraving is slightly different.

The 200e was the base gun with simple english style engraving. The 201e has deep relief german style hunting scene engraving. Both were very well done on all of them I have seen. They appear on Gunbroker occasionally. For a long time last year, someone had a 200e in 16 gauge with a non adjustable rear sight for sale. Not beat up but well used, and a little odd for shotgun use with the sight. Not rifled though so not really a cape gun style firearm. It went begging at $2100. I think it would have sold quickly if a conventional O/U.

Art, the catalog picture of the 201E does not show any high relief or game scene engraving. In fact, it looks almost identical to the OP's 200E.

A copy of the build card from Merkel will tell if it is a 200 or 201

What year was the catalog? I don't have and have never owned a Merkel catalog, so I can't speak to that. I just did a Google search for Merkel 201E and the first 10 or 12 that popped up all show 201E's with game scene engraving. Rock Island, Morphys, Christies and others are consistent along with several knowledgeable (my opinion) internet posters. This link:

https://www.hallowellco.com/traditio...kel_grades.htm

leads to a link at Hallowell that shows the difference and describes them.

Don't know what to conclude about the catalog, but there is a lot of information that says otherwise. The only variant I found was a game scene engraved gun for sale listed as a 200E, which I had to suspect was actually a mis-identified 201E by a poster with limited knowledge.

A second search turns up numerous listings too, which consistently show scroll engraving.

The catalog was from the early 1930s. The 200 is listed as having line engraving. The 201 is listed as having English style engraving (no mention of game scenes but it could have been special ordered).
It appears that the Hallowell photos are Merkels made post WWII as if shows a superior quality mark on the left side when the action is opened.

Thanks to all who replied. The gun is most definitely a 200E. It is at a bargain price but the loose forend, cut stock and Pachmyr pad, and excessive chokes in a 2 3/4" gun would make it useless to me.