Here is the likely 'Daddy' rifle - Test rifle #5.

Also, one of the 'Cataract-Tool' scoped Krags.

Fortunately, some of the best/priceless Krag stuff is at Springfield or Rock Island and belongs to all of us!

Culpeper wrote on Apr 20^th, 2020 at 3:12pm:


That's right...  I knew it was a low number... but I forgot how low!  I think I remember the number of the lower number too... but I won't say out of respect for your modesty!

Besides Clyde's rifle the other two Krags are interesting.

It would be interesting to have the first and last one built. Looks like #1 may have been destroyed. What about the last one?
I bought an engine from a dealer/rebuilder for the large John Deere tractor I have. The fellow that delivered it said the seller actually has the first and last 6030s built. Supposed to be a legendary tractor in John Deere's history but they just sell for what they can do as a tractor. One I tracked locally went to a rebuilder in Germany that buys them to fix up and sell as working units. He paid $6000.00 and expected to get $45,000 when completed.
Is the Krag with highest number of the last one built even known? Maybe there  were numbered receivers with higher numbers that did not get finished and were sold for parts?

That may have been 305999 due to a heavy hammer strike on the stamp or a damaged stamp.  You would expect to see rifles in the 490k, and 500 to 504k serial number ranges if 505999 was part of the production run of Krags.

We are not seeing those numbers though we do see multiple krags in the 460 to low 487s that support the 489 cutoff.

Like you said we do not know his source nor do we have the rifle or a picture of the rifle's receiver to be certain. 

Of course, it could be a case of a leftover receiver that was hand stamped and built up.  However I am thinking not likely.

I think a "Last" numbered firearm, like a Krag, would be worth a premium if it was well documented what number was actually the last produced. We don't have those records for the Krag.

I think that the first 100 Krags would carry a premium, also, if they were in original configuration.

Really specific info on Garand:

According to Mr. Scott Duff's blue book on the post war M1 Garand, the last "official" M1 Garand came off of the Springfield Armory assembly line at 10:43 AM on 17, May 1957. Mr. Garand attended the ceremony. The serial number of this rifle was 6084405. It is now on display at the Springfield Armory museum. M1 Garand's with higher serial numbers than 6084405 do exist, however, they are rather rare, hard to find and very valuable. Many high 6-million serial numbered M1 Garands were built into National Match rifles using left over existing receivers