Max, I have two Vincenzo Bernardelli SXSs with VB in a TRIANGLE.
A Pietro Bernardelli with just his name, and Armi Bernardelli on it. (No enclosure) (And I think lots of Italian manufactures used the word Armi, as a prefix at one time or another)
I bought my 20 gage SXS, XXIV, (1968), Charles Daly Empire grade, from a very astute, (if I had his collection, ONLY, I would be a multi millionaire!), collector. I am quite sure that he said it was made by Beretta, and he was selling because he was upgrading his collection. (It has the AB in an oval)
I once had a dealer, (using the blue book), who told me that my gun would be worth only $400 if 99 percent! :roll: :roll: He was having trouble finding it in the the blue book, and I have since figured out that it, this particular gun, is just not in there.
So like you, I am still trying to figure it out. BUT, I am coming to the conclusion that the AB in the oval comes from the time before Pietro Beretta became the main man in the firm. And stands simply for "Armi Beretta".
I know that I have seen just that on some old Beretta hang tags and other paperwork as well as on old boxes.
But I also just checked my old Beretta, single, MonteCarlo Trap model and it doesn't have any oval. And I can't really tell the date, it is either XI, (1955 with a slightly botched stamping), or XXI, (1965), but it seems much older than the SXS, both in shape and design wise. ???? It is one of those under lever guns, designed like the fold up ones. (In reality, it is a pretty good trap gun, for it's day.)
BTW, the oval on my SXS is shaped different than the new PB oval. More elongated, for whatever that means.
Clyde