Not listed in 'Serial Numbers of Known U.S. Krags.'

Poyer's has it produced on December 1897.

The 1896 cartouche and proof with a V after more cleaning.

My theory is that- ‘as’ the gun had nasty cosmoline in the action, bolt, rear sight, etc, hard to reach places and residues on the dark stock, it had been something bought by the seller in an estate sale so he didn’t have much in it. With the big ‘only once a year’ Balt show coming up he or a helper wiped the worst off and he put it on his overflow table as opposed to his high dollar table. As gunked up as it was he priced it to sell along with 2 other krag rifles on the same table. They were 100 and 200 dollars more with no cosmo but had sanded stocks. The guy tending the table told me that they were priced low to sell and even knocked 45.00 off the price on the tag. Just my theory and I’m stickin to it. I don’t think that it’s been reanythinged. It was wrapped in cosmo until he wiped it down and I cleaned it some more. Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in awhile.

Two more things that I initially thought odd about my rifle until I checked my Poyer book, the bright blue extractor [ I’ll take a better pix tomorrow, it’s crazy blue] and the case hardened buttplate cap. Neat details for a military arm.

It may be worth noting here that the original finish on US Krag receivers and loading gates was not "blued" ("browned" in period terminology) but rather a mottled gray/black resulting from the oil quench after case-hardening. The more uniform blue-black finish seen in some photos on this thread is arguably the result of re-finishing, likely done at the arsenal sometime before being retired from active service. A good photo of the receiver's left side could help determine which finish is present.

It's always easy to be an armchair critic of beautiful pieces like this Krag we are examining with a fine-toothed comb. But, that cartouche stamp doesn't look authentic to me. It just seems to be too clean and deep. I would lean towards a re-stamping of some sort but not from SA.

But, I could be wrong.

Thanks again for giving us something to talk about. We all love nice Krags like yours.

'Baltimoreed' - Boy, I'm glad the seller came down $45 on this wreck! 

A truly fine looking Krag. I'm glad you were able to see past the heavy coat of cosmoline.

FWIW - I don't doubt the authenticity of your cartouche and script "P" stamps. Some 'J.S.A. cartouche' examples show rounded, rather than beveled, corners. There is a faint hint of a 'ghost cartouche' where the Die may have bounced after the cartouche was originally struck.

(The small "V" is a stocker or sub-inspector mark).

During the 'rebuild - process' stocks were scraped and lightly sanded to remove nicks and minor blemishes. That would explain any light areas of the J.S.A. initials.
(The box outline and circle outline may have been cleaned up and traced a bit, with a pick or metal brush).

Your forearm's 'finger grooves' look very crisp. The 'flame blue' of your extractor is correct.

BTW - The 'slotted' front-band was adopted in 1900. This might be a clue as to when your Krag was likely 'refreshed'.