I agree with Sal. I believe the gun has been very expertly & nicely refinished at some time in the past, judging from what I see in the few photos. If the factory did it, then the left grip frame may have been stamped with the factory rework date code, which would show something like the " 10 . 53 " meaning October 1953. How much negative affect on value that would be in Italy, I don't know. Schofields of any condition are rare in Europe, so if you can get the gun for a price you can live with, I would say - Go for it. The gun's not a fake. Ed.