Quote:
Originally Posted by LongColt45
[*]During this "vintage era", their premium revolvers were highly polished by skilled craftsmen and all parts of each individual gun were blued together using Smith’s proprietary Carbonia oil / bone charcoal mixture in a gas furnace . . .
It is my newly acquired 1957 Pre-Model 29 .44 Magnum . . . The polish of the metal is mostly really good, with some bluing wear at the muzzle and on the cylinder, and there are no dings or significant scratches. However, the bluing has a few blemishes to the color and there are a couple of tiny rust spots hidden under the stocks. This is an $1100 gun . . .
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As noted above, there were several different finishes for S&W revolvers in the Twentieth century, and not all "premium" S&Ws were gloss finished. Arguably, the finest revolvers ever made were the late 1940s & early 1950s were the Masterpiece line. They had a matte finish for several years.
My suggestion would be to sell that one to someone who will appreciate it as is. Take your sale money and what you would spend at Ford's and buy one in better condition that you would be happy with owning. In a decade you will be glad you have an original 44 Mag, since the value will continue to grow . . . unless it is refinished.