Why Bernard on CH, CHE, andplain old C?

[King Cobb]

That is part of what I suspect because especially on the pre 1900 Cs, you get better checkering, finer scroll work, but the actual engraved animals are not much different then Ds in most cases. I just find it surprising they would make a whole other grade that's primary selling point was its barrel pattern. Though you have to consider, in the damascus era barrels were legitimately figured to be half the cost of the gun...not so much when fluid steel arrived, which is why I think the engraving on Cs changed so much in the early 1900s, both rondells and simpler B style engraving- 1 dog deeply engraved vs 2.