The fancy barrel band is a feature often seen on high grade guns. I'll try to find more and post photos.

I have not seen an A without the breech ball rib.

Here is the butt end of the gun. Factory heel and toe plates made from a skeleton butt. I have not seen another like it.

Bruce, will you ask your "Buddy" if the PGCA research letter discusses the heel and toe plates?

Bruce,
When I said that I had seen the missing bead before, it was in an old DGJ article Vol. 17 from I think about 2008. It featured grade 6 guns and my guess would be that this was the same gun shown as they mentioned the heel and toe plates in the article. What are the odds of there being two such guns?

xxxxx

unusual
 

As I have no A grades I am hardly one to comment, but I had thought the looking back bird styles were found on earlier Parkers. Did not realize they continued to engrave that way into the fluid steel era.