I remember this was discussed several times years ago and all that's known was there was a bunch of these numbered with the * . I have been trying to find new info and research this some more. I have had this for quite a few years and it is a beautiful rifle on it's own. So why and what happened to get this * on a B1944 Maltby? The SN is 17P09X. Lots of pics were up before so I will try to find them here. Thanks