Hey, folks,
Here are a few pics of the new American I won. I have determined that it will chamber 44 Russian, but I believe it was rebored (not at the factory) for the Russian ctg. It looks like the cylinder was bored straight thru, coincidentally it will also chamber an original 44 Colt and a 44 Henry with no problem either. Or it could be someone put a 44 Henry cylinder in it as the only number on the cylinder is 1359 or 1859 while the gun is 15208.
Best guess on the carving on the grip is it looks like two different sets of initials. Originally JDN and then flipped over JHLN with the original J and D now being upside down and backwards and scored through. The grip with the date on it has the serial number of the gun on it, the grips with the letters does not. Got to dig out my book on Americans to see if that is correct or not as I'm not sure. The finish on the two panels is not even tho, the letter grip is much darker than the date grip.
The American is about six inches, while the Schofield is about 4 and a quarter inches.