That’s a hard one to put a value on. You don’t see them often, but they don’t have a demand as it’s 357 brother that also shoots 38. Last one I seen was five to seven years ago and was not selling at 600 or 700 hundred.
Listed in order by my preference, the last two are tied. In my opinion I try to stick with the old school smiths that specialized in revolvers.
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If he did custom work to the revolver then there would be added value to the right buyer but if it just went through his FFL then there would be no added value. Unless it was a rare configured special order to his shop only.
Who knows why they did it, maybe it was rust pitted and things got out of hand. Maybe he wanted to added grease without removing the cover? I would silver solder it closed and start enjoying it.
If it has the original box and it came from the original owner is about the only way to hint that the gun is un fired. I have a 14-1 that looks un fired but no way to prove that.
You can always send them off to fords for their process or if you have a friend with an oven, there is this route. https://youtu.be/spj9ndC452M?feature=shared
It’s the stitching, today’s jeans are designed for fashion vs durability. You can reinforce the stitching or use a belt that distributes the weight better.FYI, even before I carried my jeans broke in the same spot after a few years.