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The thread re: the 16 gauge CE is on a tangent so I'm starting a new one on barrel flat stamps. Here is a pic of two stamps we've started calling the square with concave sides ( 4-point star), and the fir/evergreen tree which is two triangles on top of each other. The tree stamp looks very like the Pennsylvania Keystone, symbol of our 28th Infantry Division - "the Bucket of Blood". Maybe keystone would be a better descriptor.
This pic is of a s/n 320xx CE grade 12 gauge gun. I don't have a letter on it at present. I'm assuming it's late 1927 or early 1928 but who knows for sure? The gun has the regular Chromox steel and A H Fox Philly address on the top of the barrels, nothing special. All of its features like the top lever, safety, etc. are definitely Philly.
The square stamp looks like it was added after the barrels were blued, see how the surrounding surface was stressed when it was stamped? The keystone stamp looks like it was there before bluing.
Does anyone know what these stamps signify? Thank you. Frank
Last edited by Silvers on Tue Apr 01, 2008 5:19 pm, edited 2 times in total.
I have 32628 that is an extractor gun and it has no 4-point star, I have 33804 that is an ejector gun that has the 4-point star. Could it mean ejector barrels?? It seems to appear in the mid to late 20's. All my earlier guns, before 1921 do not have the 4-point star even if they are ejectors.
Craig, that might be a good working theory. From my work repairing ejectors I know the guide pin holes are deeper in ejector than extractor barrels. Frank
I've got a new one for "us". I have a 16ga Philly XE, 2bbl set, shipped as a two barrel set originally...26" and 28". One set has the "keystone" and the other has an "acorn". I took some decent pix but I wont have a chance to post 'em for a couple of days...heading out the door for a weekend at the Syracuse gunshow.
I mispoke earlier when I said I didnt have a "jeweled" Fox. This same XE is jeweled on both sets of barrels and knowing the history of this gun for as long as I do I dont think its been added "after-market".
IN GOD WE TRUST. SPE Skeet & Uplands and AH Fox vent rib guns a specialty
I found two guns downstairs that have the concave-sided square. One is my big 32-inch XE-Grade 1-weight boomer from 1923 which is marked just like the CE Silvers shows excempt has an X where the C is in his picture. It also has a little mark on the other side of the lug that looks like a D with a little V protruding from the flat side.
The other is a 12-gauge Sterlingworth Standard from July 1928 that has just the concave square. There is no Fox-Proof stamp on this gun?!?
Both these guns have the D with a three-lobed crown over it tube-makers marks on the bottom of the tubes. The S-worth is a 2-weight.
Fellow Foxmen, I'm going to attempt to post these pics of a 16ga XE 2bbl set shipped in 1927. The 28" set has an "acorn" stamp, and the 26" set wears the "keystone". Both have ejectors. Both are jeweled. I also took a shot of the breech end with the "radial" pattern which has been discussed. These barrels were shipped as a pair and werent mated up later on in the gun's life.....could it signify bbl length???[/img] [/img]
IN GOD WE TRUST. SPE Skeet & Uplands and AH Fox vent rib guns a specialty
Hey Tom, nice pics, nice gun. Sorry I can't help with the pic posting
problem. I can barely post them myself!
I doubt the "keystone" signifies bbl length. Your 26" barrels have
the keystone stamp. The CE with the stamp that I posted here has
28" barrels. Your jeweling and radial scrape marks look much the
same. Frank
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