Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors 99H markings

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/galleries/19328878/99h-markings

Saw these markings and strange serial number on a 99H today. Anyone have any input? Thanks.

British Proofs Joe

There are an awful lot of crowns and symbols stamped on that rifle.
Probably legit but looks overly done.
The "-2" serial number probably doesn't pass the BATF smell test.
What's the point of obscuring the serial number??

can't help with the markings. produced in 1924, variation V1, last year for the rifle weight barrel in the 99H. The 1925 H, variation V2 was the first use of the medium weight barrel on a 99. I have a 1925 99G with the lightweight barrel and had a 1926 99G with the medium weight barrel. 1926 seems to be when the other models went to the medium weight barre.

Ted's correct, British proofs. In order for a gun to be sold in England by law it had to pass rigorous proof testing, and was so stamped at every step in the process. "What's the caliber measure out to, Alf?" ".30 caliber, Reggie." "Ok, give it the .30 stamp." It was a kind of daunting process to submit a gun for proving back then and can only imagine how bad it is today - probably why the British home market wasn't more actively pursued by U.S. gun makers.

As for the "-2" on the serial number, I'll bet it was the second gun of a two gun cased set. Numbering like that was common in the English gun trade, both when two (or more) guns were in the same set and on extra barrels for a cased double gun. I'll guess some well heeled bloke ordered a pair of identical (or nearly identical) Savages from America and specified they be numbered "xxxxxx-1" and "xxxxxx-2" as proof that they belonged together in the set, and Savage complied. Then it went through proof purgatory at the Birmingham Proof House before being released for him to take possession.

The added "2" is obviously a different font. Added after it left the factory for whatever unknown and long forgotten reason.

Definitely a different font, my thoughts were that it may have been added at the factory after the initial S/N application.
Unknowable.

Sticking with my original hypothesis, of course it would be a different font. It would've had to have been added by hand as (to the best of my knowledge) the serial number clicker wouldn't have been set up for hyphenated add-ons, held in abeyance for those rare times it would be needed. Probably at the factory before finishing in the course of fulfilling a unique order from "across the pond" - to have done it at a later date through the new bluing would've made it look dumb.

It always saddened me a bit when viewing neat exotic arms at large antique gun shows with those number add-ons, -1, -2, -A, -B, etc., knowing that they've been separated from their twins for whatever reasons. Squabbling between two brothers over who got Dad's cased set so they resolved it by each taking one of the guns was a pretty common scenario methinks. Then one of the brothers sells his at some point for beer money and any hope of reuniting the set is lost forever.

A factory letter would be the place to start an investigation.
That may shed light on the serial number.

It seems the serialization process at Savage or any U.S. manufacturer would be fairly defined, rigid and followed as a matter of quality.

It also seems the British would have a defined and rigid import process as well. Alf and Reggie must follow the process.

Indeed!