[Spirit]

I saw this one pop up and was excited. Seller states the finish is original, but I checked with Tyler at Colt Archives to verify this, and he informed me that it shipped out with blue finish originally.

I know to some of you pros it's obvious, but I just wanted to let you guys know in case anyone else was interested in it and were unsure based off of the pictures alone.

GunBroker.com - Error

It's still a pre-war Detective and the re-finish job is better than average, so it would be a nice gun for the right price. It just won't be original.

 

[cloverleaf]

It is an obvious re nickel.
But, it is priced as such

 

[Spirit]

It is an obvious re nickel.
But, it is priced as such

I agree. It is a pretty obvious re-nickel, although it's better job than most I've seen. I just wanted to share my findings in case any of the less familiar members come across the listing and believe the description stating it's 100% original.

Would hate for a newer collector to make the mistake of thinking they're buying one thing only to find out it's something else when they get it. I've done that myself in my earlier days.

Surprisingly, the starting price actually is entirely reasonable for what it is.

 

[twaits]

Looks more like chrome to me.

 

[Spirit]

UPDATE: I messaged the seller about what I learned from Colt Archives. He honestly thought the finish was original, and he gladly updated his description with the new information, without me even asking him to. Definitely a stand up guy!

 

[IronBolt]

A fair price considering its GB.

 

[azshot]

It looks chrome, not nickel to me, which is the cheapest way to shine up a rusty gun, in the 1950s-60s. Also, it looks like they polished over pitting and rust.

For $600, I'd rather get one like this, barely turned, probably unfired (and I did, at a gun show 2 years ago):

 

[thecoltguy]

Easy to see that it is a re-finish and it's nice that the owner did the right thing by letting folks know. For comparison here are a few with original finish. Hopefully, these photos help the beginning collector so they can see the difference.

Original nickel Detective Specials:







Cam

 

[Toddlars1]

I've been to that gun store many times when I lived in Illinois...I would guess he was not trying to decieve anyone, just doubt they see many nice Colts coming through their shop

 

[GRI]

I have several friends that have stripped the nickel off guns to restore them, only to find it was horrible under the nickel.