[elmersglue]

Dear Gentlemen and Ladies present,

I enjoy looking for Colt treasures on the various internet gun auction websites.
Rarely do I buy... sometimes I do... but I watch the market... so to speak.

I see... on occasion... what I think to be... on the revolvers of my choice...
a faint, ghost like line across the 'Colt Pony' stamp,
as if another type grip/stock was present sometime before...
a longer, taller, grip/stock...
creating a wear/fade line of sort...
well before the 'For Sale' picture was taken and possible different wooden grips/stocks were placed.

Am I correct in coming to such a conclusion?
Or is there a definite reason for this faint, ghost like line across the 'Colt Pony' stamp that I see?
Orrrr, do I just need a med adjustment and new glasses.

Thank you for your time and patience.

Most Sincerely,
elmersglue

P.S. I like ColtForum. eg

 

[kenhwind]

Your assumption is correct, about the larger stocks.

 

[dfariswheel]

The situation is this: Colt Target grips themselves have just skyrocketed in price with the earlier models like the First Type fully checkered version STARTING at $300 and going UP from there.

With that kind of prices, all too many people selling a Colt remove the valuable grips, put something cheap on the gun and sell the grips on Ebay or GunBroker for high prices.

The shadow line on a Colt double action is indeed caused by the Target grips protecting the finish under them and when removed it leaves a mark where they were.
Another "usual" sign of Target grip removal is a flat head rear side plate screw. Colt installed flat head screws in the rear side plate so it wouldn't interfere with the fit of Target grips.
On models fitted with the smaller Service grips, Colt used a round dome head screw.
Usually, but not always a revolver with a flat head screw shipped with Target grips. I say "usually" because it's very easy to change the screw.

So, if you see a Colt double action revolver with that shadow on the frame you know the original Target grips have been removed at some point.