is it correct for there to be case color under the forarm on metal portion? the rest of the gun is blue so I just wondered.

While it is difficult to tell from your photos, it is quite possible that you are mistaking the remains of the gun's colour case for "blue." It tends to fade that way...

If this is indeed the "case", the unexposed case colours are correct.

Aagghhh! Freeakin smartphones and there auto correct demons!
Pretty sure the gun is blue. I assumed that it would have been the standard by this time in production. However, I have never seen a blued forearm underneath.

Mr. Corley:
You have reached the stage of endless speculation. You're best bet with this gun is to take it to a responsible double gun professional for appraisal. It is the only way you will know for sure what its relative condition is, its state of originality, general value, etc.

This depends greatly on your location in the country. Or where you are willing to transport the gun.

Any recommendations in the Charleston,SC area?

If you can wait, why not bring it up to the Spring Southern SxS in the Sanford, NC area. The Parker Collectors will be there as well as a host of experts from around the nation. Just Google Deep River Sporting Clays for all the details.

Mike,
Jim Kelly at Darlington Gun Works. He is the best. Little bit of a drive from Charleston, but not bad.(we go all the time).

Once the letter gets here I'll take it to Jim. I've been in the shop before. I knew he was a great smith but didn't know he was the guy for appraisals.

I was looking through the Parker identification book today. I noticed that my gun the two before it were all three identical. You see this quite often with 12 gauges but no 3 in a row 28 gauges anywhere else that I saw. The 28 gauges are speckled throughout at best. Since Miss Astor took this gun back after a short time I wonder if she bought it to go shooting with friends as a women's club type thing and just never got around to it. If so I wonder if two of her other friends also ordered 28 gauges to be manufactured?

No disrespect intended, but it seemed a bit unusual to me that Ms. Astor would purchase a V Grade Parker. The Astor family could buy the whole Parker company with pocket change. Perhaps her intent was to "trade up"?

But it 's all speculation unless you do the research...