I see that there is another D.M. Lefever Crossbolt currently listed on Gunbroker.
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/925489294It has also seen better days, and has had wood and metal refinished. In addition, the horn forend tip has been replaced with a piece of walnut, and it has a non-original grip cap and recoil pad.
I see that it was sold by Shoverling Daly & Gales (SD&G), and it has a pretty low serial number that would suggest Syracuse production. But it is said that all of the O Excelsior grade guns were only built in Ohio, and were never cataloged in Syracuse. I have a D.M. Lefever gun with no grade mark that appears to be about 7d or 8E grade, but mine has a semi-pistol grip, so naturally, the grade can't be found under the grip cap. It also has the SD&G stamp under the barrels. But I notice that this O Excelsior gun also has the grade stamped at the rear of the forend wood, so I will have to look there on mine. I have never seen it stated that the D.M. Lefever guns had a grade and serial number stamped into the rear of the forend wood, so this was very interesting to see. It is also very unusual that the seller would pull the grip cap and forend iron to show photos of the grade and serial number stamps in the wood. The serial number on this O Excelsior is only about 50 numbers higher than my unmarked grade D.M. Lefever, but mine is made in Syracuse, and it also has the "Not Connected With Lefever Arms Co." engraved on the trigger plate. In addition, this one is marked D.M. Lefever & Sons Co., while my Syracuse gun is marked D.M. Lefever & Sons & Co.
It's great to see all of these popping up since there are no factory records, and so little is known about them. And unfortunately, much of what is written about them appears to be a lot of speculation.
