Looking for a value on the saa gen 1

Obviously a refinished gun imo. But a stellar letter for what it is. A quick look at some of the photos made me think two different engravers in two distinctly different time frames.

I will point out the gun exhibits holster wear prior to plating, most noticeable on the tip of ejector rod housing.

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I would question the "ejector rod housing" observation. I don't have a question that the gun has some wear prior to the refinish as it was certainly buffed heavily prior to the refinish. The ejector rod housings of that era were nicely beveled in a similar fashion as the OP's gun, during the same time frame. I don't think that is holster wear on the ejector rod housing but intentionally done by Colt. It is a 2 minute job to do so. Nice details still intact for the age of the gun. The ejector rod has the correct crescent shaped head and a hole in the cylinder pin head is original. Nice, original touches.

It would seem the hammer checkering totally missing. Their is an off chance a close inspection of the hammer might give you a general idea of the date on the refinish.

Here’s few extra pics

Something I’ve noticed is the engraving on the ejector rod tube I guess you call it looks crooked to me. It’s hard to get good pic. Mabey I’m wrong

I'll say it again. Ejector rod tubes were intentionally beveled by Colt in this time frame. That is not holster wear. No hammer checkering, but the hammer fits the frame well. And the hamemr looks to be a period hammer in the gun. All good things. For the OP? If you still question the "refinished" comments, look no further than the frame to loading gate fit as clear evidence of the gun being badly buffed after leaving Colt and the intial engraver.

As I said before the ejector is fine so let that issue go. As for being badly buffed I would disagree with that term as it really degrades the gun. The nickel portion of the gun has been refinished. 99.9 percent chance it was nickel when it was finished after the engraving. In order to replate the gun you have to remove the old nickel. This is not a simple process although it easier on older guns with the thin nickel. Usually it is done with acid and electricity which etches the metal. The etching then has to polished off. This destroys fine original detail like polish marks and chisel marks. The bad edges on the loading gate are also caused by this. I still say this is not recent work which means it was not done at the level one would expect from Turnbull or Lanara for example. It was done at the level commonly seen at the time.

The hammer could have been finished without the knurling for a reason. The gun may have been for use as prop in which quick trigger work was needed and a slippery hammer spur may have aided the tricks. This also could explain the extra bling. The gold plated parts still look original both inside and out.

The refinish is an unfortunate event in the guns past. Today we would all advise against it. However it was done and the gun is still what it is. The value has been diminished a bit by the work but overall I would say the gun retains good value and we will never know just what it is unless sold at a Rock island Auction.

Lots of engraving, many sharp edges and some of the roll marks have been buffed off prior to the refinish. Nickel plating or gold wash doesn't really fill anything up or mask it. On the contrary, nickel will enhance most flaws, making them more obvious, and why nickel is an excellent choice to show off skilled engraving.

What do you think of the ejector housing to frame fit?

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Thanks for point that out Rick. By the fit I'd say it is an obvious replacement.

The fit of the ejector housing is just fine. You guys keep confusing shadows for gaps. Look at the black below it and follow it up. It becomes thinner as it goes up. Just a shadow. Nearly every gun will show a shadow there if you are not careful to avoid it.

Nickel will indeed fill small scratches. and polish marks. I have and have seen many very early plated guns and the original nickel was very thin and often the edges of the address and some marks would break through and start to rust. Later nickel is different and thicker. Compare a first to a third and tell me they are the same. Cozmo I am guessing the guns you get plated are done by a company or individual specializing in firearms who would pay more attention the work. The plating on this gun was probably done by some type of commercial plating shop doing all kinds of things, possibly a bumper shop.

Buffing is a process used to polish metal. The rougher the grit used the more metal it will remove very similar to a grinding wheel. It can easily remove markings. It also produces a sort of washed soft edge with a slight dip in the metal going in the direction the wheel was turning. As the finer the grit or abrasive becomes it will eventually produce a mirror finish.

The difference in the engraving as some areas shows more chisel marks the other places nay be from how the gun was prepped before replating. Engraved guns tend to rust in the chiseled out engraved areas as you can imagine. They accumulate dirt and dirt holds moisture and there fore rust. The edges also wear more and bare steel is exposed and you get rust. This gun was most likely starting to rust under the nickel. At some point perhaps even before the refinish the gun may have been cleaned on a wire wheel which will also round edges and remove small marks.

Nickel plating became a standard finish for guns about 1870. It took until then to more or less perfect the process. Prior to that most guns were silver plated which did not hold up well. The earliest nickel was a very thin layer applied directly to the steel. Nickel guns received a higher level of polish in order to obtain the mirror bright finish. When you see these early guns many have had the nickel turn a yellowish color and it comes off in small flecks. On a gun like this you can see just how thin it was. Some have survived in high condition and on these guns you can see polish marks through it and the edges are often worn through. As time passed the process kept improving and the plating became thicker and stuck a bit better. If you look at a later nickel gun you will often the nickel has come off in larger flakes as the moisture worked it's way under the nickel. Later in some case a layer of copper was first applied in order to get the nickel to adhere to the steel better, you used to hear the term triple plated, this referred to different layers and could be quite thick. Presently the process has improved even further and we have electroless nickel which is very tough.

Some here like to see things wrong with every gun. That is not always the case. I don't buy into the line of thinking that this gun was engraved at tow different times or replaced parts. The gun was worked a long time ago before most of the stuff mentioned was being done. The guns were not worth the time or money to go to extensive means to refinish it. No one even offered services such as Turnbull does. Even Colt would not go to the extremes we see today. A bad barrel was replaced with a new one that may have patent dates 30 years later then when the gun was built. Weak or bad markings may have been restamped with whatever was being used at the time.

Shadow? Say it enough times and any fool with a 3rd grade Colt education might actually believe it. Original 1st Gen guns are virtually seamless at the frame/ejection rod housing. (pretty much like the frame and barrel seam) And the housing is actually hard to get off the frame because of it. If there is a gap, almost without fail, it means one of two things, either barrel and ejector rod housing were changed or just the ejector rod housing was replaced. Details matter.