A "new" 2 inch Victory

[kwill1911]

I believe this to be one of the guns that shipped to Ft. Mason in December 1942 but it is from the "missing" crate. A total of 300 guns were shipped, 100 to a crate, but only 200 numbers were recorded.

This one has been refinished, had the stocks replaced and the swivel removed so it isn't in great shape. It currently resides in the Philippines. I have posted these pictures for abeltecs.

 

[Abeltecs]

Thanks for posting this! I'll take more pictures when I get my hands on the revolver next week.

Is the original finish for this batch of victory revolvers in "black magic"? Is black magic like a parkerized finish?

 

[kwill1911]

Yes, Black Magic is a brand of blue. It was applied over a rough, sand-blast finish so it appears very similar to parkerizing.

 

[Absalom]

Interesting. So if the gun is in the Philippines now, that allows at least some general conjecture that it was actually issued and deployed into the theater during the war. Do we have anything like that on other known specimen from the Ft. Mason shipment?

 

[Waveski]

At the risk of veering -

If a person with an appreciation for the historical significance of that particular revolver were to acquire it , would there be any reason to not restore it to it's original condition?
Given the current condition that's what I would do. Nowhere to go but up , IMO.

And , if I am not breaching security , Mr Williams - how did you learn of this and come by the image?

 

[DCWilson]

At the risk of veering -

...would there be any reason to not restore it to it's original condition?
Given the current condition that's what I would do. Nowhere to go but up , IMO.

Every gun's appearance tells a broad tale of its life, and that history should be respected. This particular gun has an interesting origin and possibly an even more interesting postwar existence. I would never try to put a new war finish on it, not least because that finish would be completely unpersuasive and could even hurt the gun's market value.

On the other hand, minor changes with major effect are generally harmless. If this were my gun, I'd replace those grade-Z stocks with Victory wood in a heartbeat. And if I had an original lanyard loop, I might replace that as well. (It looks to me as though the old loop was just cut off, not removed and plugged. If that's a plug in the frame, that strikes me as history rather than abuse, and I'd leave it alone.)

 

[kwill1911]

Abeltecs owns the gun so he can address how it came into his possession if he desires. I've been accused of being a purist about leaving guns as is--they are only original once and a refinished gun has exactly 0% original finish. However, on a gun that is rare and has historical importance I am less rigid. The only gun I've ever had "restored" was a 2 inch Victory that had been nickel plated and was missing the lanyard loop and grips. Even so, I sold it as soon as I found one with its original finish. This one is a good candidate for rehabilitation. (Just my opinions, of course.)

Absalom, your conjecture is reasonable but, no, I don't know of any others about which we might speculate based on their location or chain of custody. Many thousands of small arms were given to allies, friendly countries and emerging democracies in the late 1940s through the 1970s, especially guns that were considered obsolete or surplus to US military requirements. Perhaps the 2" Victory Models fit that description.