Thanks for a helpful response.
I looked up the appraisal and found it was built in 1965.
I think the important thing is that the circuits are protected.
In the box there are 4 breakers(among others) next to each other with a bar attached to all of them with the number 40 on it. I tried to see where the wires led to, but there were too many wires in the box.
Another interesting thing is the ground wire for the box.
Instead of an insulated wire going to the copper ground rod, it APPEARS that the uninsulated ground wire goes behind the brick and comes out a hole close to the grounding rod.
There is also an uninsulated wire going from the grounding rod to the outside AC unit. I am not sure that is up to snuff. :-)
Take care, Andy
FWIW, grounding electrode conductors can be either insulated or bare. Even houses built in 1965 were required to have service disconnects. I suspect that you may not be understanding the wiring in the panel you have, and that it may very well be a split buss type. A picture would clarify your situation