"Liege Twist"

Note the high ratio of iron (black) to steel (white). The Sears 1908 catalog described the pictured barrels of this Meriden shotgun as "improved Liege full finished twist" and when ordered as an upgrade on this hammer gun, the shotgun cost the customer $13.59, $1 more than the gun with "fluid steel." The same shotgun with the higher grade Liege "double blade Damascus" was priced at $16.59. There may have been several different types of Liege (sometimes referred to as “improved Liege”) made damascus barrels used on these guns. Twist damascus barrels are described as simply “twist” in the standard guns, and in other cases they are described as “two blade Liege twist” and “triple-leaf twist” (in the A.J. Aubrey Specials). No matter how the twist barrels were described, they appear to cost the customer $1.00 more. A.J. Aubrey guns marketed as “Special” have engraving that the "Meriden Special" lacks, but otherwise appear identical. The highest grade damascus available was referred to as three-blade, costing $4.00 more than the fluid steel ($3 over the twist). The three-blade shotguns were hammerless and richly engraved. Depending on the level of embellishment, they were priced between $30.75 and $38.50.