[kip595]

*Edits have been made for clarity.

Recently got a truly uncommon example in some recent tradings. Took some haggling because the finish had a few more scratches than expected (or than the seller noted) and was well in-need of a good cleaning (CLP nickel-safe so far, gotta get my Ren Wax from storage) but everything indicates an original semi-custom ‘special’ gun with identically-ish aged wide hammer and consistent ‘wear’ throughout. All markings seem crisp and correct, and though condition is not perfect, it presents beautifully. So while I've yet to order a letter (picked up the gun less than three ago), it appears to be a factory-original nickel FIVE INCH, forgive my reference previously to 4” - my PSA for the week not to post after your evening eggnog Trooper with all the fixings. And I apologize for the pictures (camera work is not my skill-set), but it may have the cleanest bore I've ever seen on a gun this age, aside from NIB specimens. I suspect this was someone's "I want a gun for my home but if I'm getting on it's going to be nice!' house gun back in the day and saw little if any use for a loooooong time. The correct 'B' inspection mark for example hardly even looks polished, let alone altered or re-finished.

In the argument it did not at least begin life as a ‘BBQ’ gun; also note the FHP marking on the butt, hidden from view at most times by the stocks - This matches several other Troopers and Patrolman (IIRC) models that were often given as presentation guns to officers of long service in the Florida State Highway Patrol, from the 1950s thru (I believe?) the 1970s - can anyone confirm? Heck, anyone know who this officer might’ve been in ‘67-68?

As always all thoughts appreciated - I assure those like myself who inherently doubt nickel, after examining with magnifier and dental tools the finish seems factory, but all thoughts welcome.

*It occurred to me; and I don’t think this breaks any forum rules unless there’s something new since I was last on (moving cross country took a toll!) - but anybody have any idea what ‘value’ would be? I know, ‘what somebody will pay’, etc - I KNOW I’m happy with what I paid, but what do I tell my insurance guy? The only one of these I’ve even found similar was in an RIA catalogue like two years ago…

 

[po18guy]

Nice piece indeed. I would maybe try Flitz on the nickel. as it is ammonia free and can help the scratches to disappear.

 

[kip595]

Nice piece indeed. I would maybe try Flitz on the nickel. as it is ammonia free and can help the scratches to disappear.

I had considered that, but a watch collector friend once steered me away from it saying it (Flitz) can wear away platings like silver or nickel over time - not sure how accurate that is TBH however. :/

 

[skilled]

Do my eyes deceive me? Looks like a 6” not a 4”?

 

[weagle99]

Do my eyes deceive me? Looks like a 6” not a 4”?

Could be a 5”?

 

[weagle99]

I had considered that, but a watch collector friend once steered me away from it saying it (Flitz) can wear away platings like silver or nickel over time - not sure how accurate that is TBH however. :/

Doing it once with light pressure shouldn’t hurt anything

 

[smkummer]

You have a 5” colt trooper 357. These were ordered that way by the Florida Highway Patrol. This order began when the model was a Colt 357 ( prior to 1962, the trooper was a 38 or 22). And continued with the trooper .357 and even into the Trooper MKIII with a nickel finish and 5” barrel.
Value appears to be a bit more than a blued 4” or 6” trooper 357, I wouldn’t mind adding one to my collection. So check gun broker for completed auctions for value. Your nickel in my opinion still looks pretty good, when they start flaking with the nickel coming off, often the value drops fast. Your stocks appear to have gold plated emblems which were probably not original to the gun as those were considered python stocks. I have seen FHP guns with both service stocks and target stocks like Yours. Stock are easy to changed.

 

[JudgeColt]

I had considered that, but a watch collector friend once steered me away from it saying it (Flitz) can wear away platings like silver or nickel over time - not sure how accurate that is TBH however. :/

You WANT to wear away some of the plating thickness to level out the surface, making the deep scratches shallower and less noticeable. I once took a nickel Smith & Wesson Model 19 in trade that looked dull from all of the tiny scratches in the plating. I used a rotary tool with a fat cotton wheel and jeweler's rouge to polish the entire gun. Done correctly, there will not be any noticeable swirls in the finish. The gun looked almost new when I finished, and I sold it at a large profit.

In another case, I took in a nickel gun that had someone's Social Security Number scratched into the back strap. (Did it not occur to the genius who did that to put the number under the stocks if the urge to mark the gun was so strong?) I first sanded the area to where the number was faint, and then polished the area in the same way as the Model 19. The marking was much less visible, and easier to miss in casual viewing.

This mention of polishing a nickel gun reminds me of a 1930s nickel 2-inch Smith & Wesson Military & Police that had some areas of missing plating. The nickel was also full of fine scratches from decades of use. I gave it the above polishing technique and polished the areas where the plating was missing until the underlying bare steel became mirror-like. I put it out on my table at a gun show and a guy, recognizing how rare the gun was, willingly paid my asking price. I suspect he did not realize that the plating was missing in spots. Presumably, he realized it when he got it home under better light. Still, the overall appearance of the gun was stunning at "table" viewing distance.

Using Flitz on this Trooper should improve its appearance. "Light pressure" probably will not have much effect. Do not worry about wearing through the plaiting when doing the polishing by hand. Polish it hard to blend in the scratches.

A lot can be done with nickel plating of normal thickness to improve its appearance. Don't be afraid of trying. Show us the result when done.

 

[kip595]

You WANT to wear away some of the plating thickness to level out the surface, making the deep scratches shallower and less noticeable. I once took a nickel Smith & Wesson Model 19 in trade that looked dull from all of the tiny scratches in the plating. I used a rotary tool with a fat cotton wheel and jeweler's rouge to polish the entire gun. Done correctly, there will not be any noticeable swirls in the finish. The gun looked almost new when I finished, and I sold it at a large profit.

In another case, I took in a nickel gun that had someone's Social Security Number scratched into the back strap. (Did it not occur to the genius who did that to put the number under the stocks if the urge to mark the gun was so strong?) I first sanded the area to where the number was faint, and then polished the area in the same way as the Model 19. The marking was much less visible, and easier to miss in casual viewing.

This mention of polishing a nickel gun reminds me of a 1930s nickel 2-inch Smith & Wesson Military & Police that had some areas of missing plating. The nickel was also full of fine scratches from decades of use. I gave it the above polishing technique and polished the areas where the plating was missing until the underlying bare steel became mirror-like. I put it out on my table at a gun show and a guy, recognizing how rare the gun was, willingly paid my asking price. I suspect he did not realize that the plating was missing in spots. Presumably, he realized it when he got it home under better light. Still, the overall appearance of the gun was stunning at "table" viewing distance.

Using Flitz on this Trooper should improve its appearance. "Light pressure" probably will not have much effect. Do not worry about wearing through the plaiting when doing the polishing by hand. Polish it hard to blend in the scratches.

A lot can be done with nickel plating of normal thickness to improve its appearance. Don't be afraid of trying. Show us the result when done.

A good deal of this makes sense to me; and it actually jibes with what my watchcollector bud was saying, the plating in those being so much thinner and the like on silver plate watch cases and such. If Ren Wax doesn’t get it perfect I’ll slowly try working in some Flitz.

 

[kip595]

You have a 5” colt trooper 357. These were ordered that way by the Florida Highway Patrol. This order began when the model was a Colt 357 ( prior to 1962, the trooper was a 38 or 22). And continued with the trooper .357 and even into the Trooper MKIII with a nickel finish and 5” barrel.
Value appears to be a bit more than a blued 4” or 6” trooper 357, I wouldn’t mind adding one to my collection. So check gun broker for completed auctions for value. Your nickel in my opinion still looks pretty good, when they start flaking with the nickel coming off, often the value drops fast. Your stocks appear to have gold plated emblems which were probably not original to the gun as those were considered python stocks. I have seen FHP guns with both service stocks and target stocks like Yours. Stock are easy to changed.

Thanks for helping confirm so many of my suspicions! *Completely forgot to list the oddball/special-order 5” barrel (added pic below). I knew the FHP guns were 5s, though I thought there had been a few other group orders for these? I’ve had two Official Police and one Police Positive Soecial at 5” barrels, so forgive me for forgetting it was not normally a factory offering in all models. With the grips off and seeing the roll marks so crisp, knowing the haze the recent owner had allowed to creep in would polish off if I got to it quickly; I knew I wouldn’t leave the deal without it. Bless CLP and RenWax! Almost all hazing has, and she is a stunner in any light.

Relatively low odds of course that this could even be from a different group, mine being marked FHP so clearly. If anybody has any FHP ties I’d love to know more about the history of this one.

Gunbroker was my idea too; but I can’t even find the last time one of these sold on there. Only semi-recent listing I could find was the aforementioned RIA catalogue listing (no closing price listed, just ‘sold’ in the one reference to it I saw) - I don’t think this one’s going anywhere, but again if anybody knows any precedents I’m all ears.

Agree 100% on the grip panels actually. Took them off again for the waxing and the faintest grit outline could be seen where ‘standard’ service grips would have rested along the hilt of the gun - I strongly suspect someone snagged some OEM Pythons for their ‘showpiece’ at the LGS on sale in the dark days of the late 80s or such

The more I learn about this one, the most I know one thing: this is a COOL old revolver!

 

[kip595]

Measured out w/5” ididicated:

 

[Todd]

Measured out w/5” ididicated:

View attachment 820294

Seems a hell of a lot prettier there. Have you polished it or is it merely photographing better now/

 

[kip595]

Seems a hell of a lot prettier there. Have you polished it or is it merely photographing better now/

That RenWax is expensive, but worth every penny!

 

[Todd]

That RenWax is expensive, but worth every penny!

A friend calls it and G96 $## in a can. This, relative to the asking price of his guns AFTER he diligently use the products on them.

 

[kip595]

A friend calls it and G96 $## in a can. This, relative to the asking price of his guns AFTER he diligently use the products on them.

Lmao I can’t say I blame him! Funny thing on this one; me and the seller had been texting via local classifieds - when I got there and it was hazed we instantly had some ‘financial disagreements’, but once I pointed out how much it’d tank the value if it didn’t clean up we settled.

Mostly it needed a cleaning, but it was looking so good when I first finished the polish I wondered for a minute if I should give the guy a call and offer him the difference we cut off - then I remembered that it was mostly just the cost of one full new can of RenWax! Lol

 

[Todd]

I wondered for a minute if I should give the guy a call and offer him the difference we cut off - then I remembered that it was mostly just the cost of one full new can of RenWax! Lo

I've been there before. "Wow, this is nicer/rarer/more valuable than I had comped against..." I get over it with "a deal is a deal" since it does NOT work the other way when close inspection or research leaves you hanging as a buyer after the fact.

 

[kip595]

I've been there before. "Wow, this is nicer/rarer/more valuable than I had comped against..." I get over it with "a deal is a deal" since it does NOT work the other way when close inspection or research leaves you hanging as a buyer after the fact.

Amen to that! Got sold a bunko Colt .25 in my misguided youth; took me dang near a year to get all the issues sorted in that ‘bargain’

 

[Todd]

Amen to that! Got sold a bunko Colt .25 in my misguided youth; took me dang near a year to get all the issues sorted in that ‘bargain’

Another axiom which I've learned to apply in these cases is: "We're not gonna share in a loss so let's not share in a profit!"

Too, making a purchase mistake * right *, even if in only my point of view, has been a very gratifying experience several times in my past. I had a very initially dissatisfying relationship with a Winchester Model 97. Took it on thinking it was no where near as bad as it was. Got dumped on by reality and stowed it away. Then "Cowboy Action" took off and I revisited it. I ended up really enjoying transitioning that anchor into a cool gun that got me a pile of dough recently. You know, 26 years later!

 

[dfariswheel]

All metal polishes are abrasive and if used too often or too hard will polish right through nickel plating.
Polishing of bright nickle to "remove" very fine scratches will make the gun look better, but remember..... you're abrading off a layer of the plating so don't try to get deeper scratches off.

Like damage to bluing, deeper scratches in bright nickel are forever.... the only fix is a strip and re-plate.

From the photo of the sideplate I suspect the gun shipped with Service grips. Guns with Target grips had flat screws in the rear of the sideplate, Service grip models had dome head screws.

 

[kip595]

All metal polishes are abrasive and if used too often or too hard will polish right through nickel plating.
Polishing of bright nickle to "remove" very fine scratches will make the gun look better, but remember..... you're abrading off a layer of the plating so don't try to get deeper scratches off.

Like damage to bluing, deeper scratches in bright nickel are forever.... the only fix is a strip and re-plate.

From the photo of the sideplate I suspect the gun shipped with Service grips. Guns with Target grips had flat screws in the rear of the sideplate, Service grip models had dome head screws.

I think we’re in agreement on every point! …which of course now has me scouring the usual sites for a good set of OEM 1960s service stocks…hobbies are a good thing; right?? …