Congrats on a classic pistol. Is 4000 Euros a good price in Germany? That converts to about $4500 USD. Is it possible to buy a pistol across borders if both countries are in the EU?
I acquired it outside of Germany. I have only seen 2 Combat Pythons here in the last 8 years and both went for 2x that price so this is a great price for Germany and an even better price back home for when I rotate back CONUS. I can acquire across country borders. It is a little bit expensive to ship but I can arrange the permits myself. 2.5" Pythons go for about EUR 1500 here and while that is a great deal, I cannot re-import them into the US under the GCA even if they were born there.
You all may be right. The seller has represented the gun as new and in near perfect condition. I have a friend who is going to inspect and if it passes muster, will be handing over the cash I wired to him. If the gun has been refinished, I will pass at the asking price. But if the gun has been refinished, I will take it for EUR 2K. A crap refinish is no match for a skilled Bulino engraver on the Val Trompia.
Unless it's Parkerizing or some kind of spray coating, in that case you need to blast it off. Even if you manage to strip the finish with chemicals, you'll find a blasted surface underneath since this is part of the finishing process. It will take a lot of polishing to refinish a gun like that.
In looking at a revolver for evaluating if it has been refinished, always examine the rear of each cylinder flute. That is the area that loses the sharpness of the edge first. This gun shows heavy wear in that area. I say it has been buffed, sand-blasted or ? and refinished.
I was wondering if I was going to be the person saying "but the king has no clothes!" Not knowing what a "Combat Python" was, I figured they might have had a "combat" parkarized finish. But it looks awful, and I sure would not pay a premium for "rarity" if that's what they are. Sounds like they're supposed to be a regular blue.
Unless the seller has an unnatural talent for taking poor pictures, I'd say it's refinished. Didn't think about barrel change though, could be a good idea to get a letter before forking out the big bucks.
T77706, which comes back as a “Combat Python”. Just heard back from Earl Minton at LH who says it is not one of theirs. Notwithstanding the seller’s assurances it is as new, the consensus opinion is that it is a refinish, which brings the value way, way down. When my associate inspects and confirms this, I will most likely pass
ok. It is a hard no on this one. Notwithstanding the seller's assurances that the gun is "as new," it looks like it was found at the bottom of a river and reconditioned. This one pic said it all. Will be a lot easier to get my money back from my associate than from this dealer.
At first glance, the gun looks like hell. Definitely not worth the asking price. Buying a classic firearm like a Colt Python takes a lot of research, patience, and hard work to find the right piece. I'm glad I was able to acquire the one and only Colt Python I have from a family inheritance. I will keep that in the family until I am pushing up daisies.
I got an email alert from one of the european gun auction sites I keep under surveillance that returned a hit on my keywords. the seller had posted the ad and had yet to upload the pic. I made a conditional offer on it sight unseen. He then posted that pic and I asked about the color and he said it was a bad pic and would post more. I got the other pics and saw that this thing was in terrible shape. revoked my conditional offer. Got my money back into my bank account today from the guy I was going to send over there to pick it up for me.
This is what the the finish is supposed to look like. This one went for $8,625 in 2016. Another 99% specimen also sold on RIA for $12,650 five years ago...
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