Think of all the stagecoaches that roamed the Old West in the late 1800's & early 1900's, Each one carried at least one guard who was armed with at least one weapon, be it rifle, pistol or scattergun. Some, but certainly not all, were marked with the name of the company, Wells Fargo, Butterfield, American Express, etc. It is not inconceivable that there are authentic ones out there either full length or sawed off. True, there are a lot more fakes than real, but there must be some real ones as well.
It reminds me of Lt. Dixon's $20 gold piece that for over 100 years legend said that he carried as a good luck piece through the hell of Shiloh and onto the first submarine Hunley. It was given to him on his departure by his girfriend Queenie Bennett. It was only legend until the little Hunley was found and excavated and lo and behold along with Lt. Dixon's remains was found the double eagle dented where it was struck by a minie ball at Shiloh. Unknown to anyone, living, before that time he had a jeweler inscribe the back of it: "Shiloh April 6, 1862 My Life Preserver G.E.D." Of such stuff are legends made.
Best Regards, George
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