As Elmer Keith said in his book title, "Hell, I was there.". In the fifties and sixties, there were many gunsmiths who had little expectation of knowledge in their customers. The truth was that the gunsmiths were not even as bright as their dullest customers. These faked up guns didn't sell for any more than the original Damascus iteration, $75.00 to $100.00. All that work for little or no profit. At least the gun in question was partially brought back without any damage to the barrels except the rib legend. Any fool, 1955 or 2021, could see that the "Titanic" stamp is a sloppy fake job, not from the factory. In the pre Johnson days, none of these faked up guns fooled anyone. I don't know where they are today, but in 1960, they were a dime a dozen and for sale at every gun show. Usually, a nice clean example would be offered for $100 to $125. I doubt that the gun would actually change hands for that much cash. A nice, clean, original Vulcan steel VH 12 would sell for about $125 also. Where is the profit for the faker after all that effort?
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