Sweet deal Buddy! I believe you made out like a bandit. Short barreled 27s just go up and up, and the earlier the better and nickel is big plus. A gentle rub down will Mother's Polish will brighten the the nickel, not too much rubbing. I think with some correct grips your 27 could bring 1.5 grand if properly marketed, and continue to increase rapidly in value if the current trend continues.
I think you did ok on that one, I probably would have made the trade too. The 27 looks loke it might have been carried a bit, but overall good shape. A couple freckles and a little frosty from the picks, but it would probably go for 1200 or so pretty quickly around here. Grips should be diamond magnas.
Well, it probably doesn't matter all that much, but the grips appear to be Jay Scott grips. Jay Scott was a subsidiary of Colt for a good while, but I can't remember how long.
They made and sold a lot of grips for all kinds of handguns back in the seventies. I still have a couple of pair on two Old Model Ruger single actions.
Lots of folks like to run down Jay Scotts these days, but they're really well made, and lot of them have some extra thickness to them that I like. They still bring good prices on GB and that Bay place. They're still a quality product, in my opinion, even if they aren't "real".
I think you did really good on the trade. If you find the period grips, diamond magnas, and get rid of that trigger shoe because it will rust your trigger, you will have a $1400 Smith. You need to clean and good metal polish. Be careful to not polish too hard. Then use a good wax.