reb87-
I would be proud to own that shotgun! It looks very nice to me. I am certainly no expert, but the "imperfection" or disruption of the damascus pattern on your shotgun doesn't appear to be a repair but rather a part of the manufacturing process. Like the imperfection on my Meriden, it appears to have been situated for the sake of cosmetics. If so the manufacture and assembly of these barrels was not haphazard. That may be all this is, a cosmetic. It would appear, given the location in the breach area that the craftsmen of the day considered it no serious safety defect.
I'll leave to Drew or others far more informed to discuss the use of Belgian made barrels on fine shotguns, but I suspect the list is long and includes some shotguns within the higher ranks (even some English make). No doubt the English have a well-deserved reputation for making the best barrels. I have read, however, that even some of the English makes imported damascus from Belgium.
If price is a reflection of where the Baker shotgun was placed in the pecking order, your Baker was no slouch. It was priced at $22.50 in the 1908 Sears catalog (when an LC Smith with fluid steel barrels cost $25 an Ithaca with damascus stub twist cost $24 and my Meriden hammer gun with damascus cost $13.59).
