First of all, thank you to
@Jebidiah Springfield for presenting the original question and starting this thread. The question was a good one, and I think we should encourage members who have reservations about buying originals to present this sort of question to the forum. Some may be reluctant to do so, because if they believe they have found a really good deal, somebody may dart in and "buy it out from under him." However, I like to believe we are an honorable bunch of folks who would be more inclined to help a brother out than not.
I believe I am a reasonably well-informed blackpowder shooter, but my main areas of interest are sporting rifles and trade guns. I feel less well informed about military arms in general, and especially revolvers. In looking at the photos of the revolver in question, I was hoping to find a serial number, and I questioned the markings on the barrel. Thank you to the individual on this thread who posted the image of the barrel markings from an actual antique. It did appear the seller omitted photos of critical areas which might ID this revolver as a reproduction.
I also had some concerns about the shape of the grip, specifically the contour of the backstrap. The Italian builders seem to have some difficulty getting that area exactly right, although this may be intentional, to
prevent confusion with original guns. I don't know.
I would disagree with those who stated the fake is obvious. Maybe to those who study these guns and have prior experience, but for a lot of reasonably well informed but not expert shooters hoping to start a modest collection, the forgery is not obvious at all. In my opinion, whoever "antiqued" that gun did a pretty good job. Screw heads have a worn appearance, and he even simulated holster wear on the muzzle. There are a number of people out there who specialize in "defarbing" modern-made reproductions, and they seem to be getting increasingly better at it, and more sophisticated in their approach. Most, we would hope, are responsible enough to preserve or put some marks in discreet locations that would identify the gun as non-original. However, even experts can be fooled sometimes. Stories about the Newtowne musket, and John Baird's mis-identification of a "Hawken" come to mind.
I think this is an area where forums such as this one really shine. It's good to know that questions like that in the original post can be presented, and knowledgeable and honorable people will respond with solid information and respect.
Good thread!
Notchy Bob
