Beware of scammers.

In doing some research, I read that the star stamp was a sign that the part was a government approved replacement part, thus the loading lever was likely replaced in the field. Perhaps whatever damaged the loading lever in the field also damaged the grips, which would explain why they are missing a ...

Is it possible this gun received the Beals loading lever from the factory? I read that certain guns were “transitional” models that had mixed parts, though that seemed to more line up with serial numbers from 1863.

I also removed the loading lever and found this little star stamped on a portion that was hidden when installed on the gun.

You inspired me to look closer, and lo and behold, once I removed the trigger guard, I found the matching serial number stamped on the inside tab!

I realized I misread part of your question above—the serial number is not penciled on the inside of the grips, and not on the trigger guard. The trigger guard just has a stamped “W”. The serial number appears on only the frame underneath the left grip, and on the underside of the barrel.

Thanks for the reply. There is a “W” stamped on the trigger guard, and the serial number is stamped on the frame underneath the left grip, and on the underside of the barrel. I do not see a letter stamped on the loading lever. There is however a “T” stamped next to the loading lever catch on the ...

Not that I can see. I think the grips were refinished at some point.

See Photos below. Close ups of some of the features listed above.

This particular item has:

1. Serial #54793 stamped on the frame under the left grip and stamped on the barrel.
2. A "W" etched into both side of the barrel, front of the trigger guard, and frame itself.
3. A "C" etched into the cylinder.
4. A "T" etched into the underside of the barrel, near the ...