I see no difference either. Sounds like wise advice from your first comment.

Stain all the same, make sure all the pigments are stirred and mixed well. Stain needs to be stirred not shaken. Early America is lighter and Special Walnut have more of a reddish tone to it compared to Provinicial.

If the sample looks terrible the floor will look worse. I would pay this guy off and find a professional

Professional flooring contractors provide samples that look like this. They don't throw on something in a corner and present it to you. See samples below.

The one on the left looks a little different than the two on the right to me. But since the difference is it looks more red, I'm not sure if that's the stain or that it wasn't sanded well enough to get past the old red.

This needs to be tested on a fully sanded floor.

Thanks so much for the input!