After reading through Bob L.'s second Moravian book many times, I've been struck by the difference of the Oerter's signature on the barrel of the Coykendall rifle detailed on pages 127 through 138. Most were stamped, this one and perhaps one other were engraved. Why?
When comparing the style of letters on the Coykendall rifle, particularly the "O" and "R"s, there are significant differences in the form of the "O" and how the "R"s are constructed. The differences are striking and one could speculate that a different hand was involved.
This begs a few questions.
1) Which are Oerter's, the different Coykendall signature or the stamped that match each other?
2) Are any of the engraved signatures, Oerter's?
3) If none are Oerter's, then who did the engravings and why?
Stamps were probably expensive, so there must have been a compelling reason to identify the rifles.
