diamondback grip question

[what would you say]

A 2.5 inch barrel 38 cal diamondback just walked in the door as a trade. No box or papers. 1968 or 69 I think. 95 % or better question. Grips have no colt eblem. Could they be original grips / did some not have emblem? I know diamondbacks are desirable but little else

[mafd2]

Should have medallions. Can you post a pic?

[22-rimfire]

Never seen any factory Diamondback stocks without a colt medallion.

[what would you say]

i had to walk away from it. I wanted to get a picture snapped but couldnt get one. dealer gave a price of $1500 (no box no papers) before I exited and i know he didn't know if they are factory grips or not. For that kind of money I could find one on GBroker or on the Forum.
The backstory: guy walks in looking for something in particular and wants to trade. says he's got a collection of Diamondbacks. He cut a deal with the owner outside so I don't know what the dealer had in it. He knows I'm a potential buyer. When I got my paws on it, I asked about the grips. dealer pulled them off but found no serial #. I stepped out and called Colt. Colt says no serial #'s on those grips is normal, and says there could possibly be some with no medallions. I could not find an example of this gun's grips in a reasonable amount of time so I'm gonna see what I can find out. If the gun is still there then we'll see. At that price, I gotta be sure. Plus I really don't know if that is a reasonable price without the box. I think the dealer knows it will likely sell whether the grips are factory or not. I think the guy with the diamondback collection probably knows the guns well, and traded his least favorite with aftermarket grips and got a really good trade price. dealer was hungry for that diamondback too. He saw my eyes light up when the trade guy started talking snakes!

[diamonback68]

My opinion, that's high by about $300-350 without proper stocks.

[what would you say]

My opinion, that's high by about $300-350 without proper stocks.

By what I saw on GBroker from the blackberry, I came to same conclusion. The gun shop has about 7,000 guns and gets big trades. I think he went in hasty.. shouldve told the trader that he needed some time to appraise, cause the trader ended up not buying anyway. Life is funny and I learned a little today. I have to give credit to the Colt Forum cause a year ago I would've just bought it blindly. I like your quote.. I just happened to have used that one today. I just try not to be the horse too much

[dfariswheel]

It's fairly common to see Diamondbacks with grips from the post-1972 shrouded barrel Colt "D" frames.
These "combat" type grips seem to work better then the original Service type grips the 2 1/2" Diamondbacks shipped with, so owner switched them.
These combat grips had no medallions, an oddity for Colt:



If it's not these or the Service type Colt grips, they're not Colt.

[what would you say]

thanks for that post Dfaris. Those are an example of the grips that are on it. I re-read your post and I understand you to say they are Colt grips but not what came on the gun, since a '68. funny thing, he has a Colt detective Special from '75 i think, that has the same grips. asking 600 and its in great shape. My original thinking was it too had aftermarket grips that were fitted very well, because of the fact it has no medallion on the grip and the 2 other detective specials in the shop did, and they cost more. I'm thinking they were from '60's, so that may be the reason.

[what would you say]

follow-up on the diamondback. I let the guy know he had colt combat grips on it.. just not original to the gun. Looks like he added another $300 to the price today and put it on Guns International if anybody's got to have a diamondback snubbie with non-original Colt grips for $1800 + fees. The grips look and feel nice on it though.