Thanks for all the information. I didn't realize there is so much to learn.

Dick's last post mentioned a P behind the guard. Do you mean behind the trigger guard?. I looked behind my trigger guard, and I don't see a P, but I see what appears to be 34 M, with the M under the number (toward the butt). Can anyone comment on that?

Also, can anyone explain why a gun that was probably made in Dec 1898, according to the serial number discussion at the beginning of these posts, was not stamped as accepted into stores until 1901?