Bought another old revolver (and I'm not going to tell you what it is)

[lee2]

how about this one?
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=338215528

 

[Enzo_Guy]

If it was a higher production 1878, it would be worth about $1000-1200.
Your piece is a lot more rare and is probably worth at least $300-400 more, even if refinished.
I would have it appraised by an expert in that manufacturer.
Being a C*** 1*** A****** aka P*********e model, if it actually does wear its original finish, it may have been a better deal than you think.
A few original ones have sold for up to $5000 at auction, in similar condition.

The blue book said a poor condition one sells for $1600 and minus 50% value for refinish, I paid $800 for it so I'd consider it a fair price being the exact blue book value. Now its "book value" may differ as, being such a rare piece with no civilian version ever released, it could be worth more (and I suspect it might be given its superb mechanical condition which is a far cry from most others that pop) based on the "what someone is willing to pay value" either at auction or as a collector's piece.
I am 100% sure of the refinish due to certain details (the dealer agrees and believe me we scrutinized it together even disassembling some parts for inspection). I doubt I'd ever get it apprised except for insurance purposes, the likelihood of coming across this good of a deal on one of these again is not in my favor so I doubt I would ever sell it. I'd never get another this nice, let alone for $800!

how about this one?
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=338215528

I can tell immediately that is an 1878 and not the gun I bought, that is a 7.5" barrel if not longer and this gun only came in one configuration wearing a 6" barrel. Trust me, and those who recognize this gun will verify, this is not a Colt 1878. There was an 1878 in the case right next to it, clearly a different animal entirely; it is different mechanically, visually, and is identified devoid, separate, and bearing little similarity beyond some visual elements from an 1878 by every body that classifies firearms. To put this in modern terms: stop pointing at a Springfield XD and trying to tell me it is a Glock, they look similar and that's pretty much where it ends haha.

 

[jmcisc]

Found this interesting piece hiding in a local gun shop over the weekend. Nothing like walking into a gun store during the "tactical gun buying craze of 2013" and staring longingly at a case full of early 20th century 6-shooters. Initially I was eyeballing another gun in the case, I handled the gun I eventually purchased that day but paid little attention to it, then I went home and in the process of minor research I stumbled across information on the gun I paid little mind to. I went back this morning to put the deposit on that one I failed to look at closely enough.

Now I'm not going to divulge exactly what this gun is because I want to see who here recognizes it or has even ever heard of this particular firearm. Please do not mention the manufacturer or model in your posts! We can still discuss its rarity, very interesting history, rather unique design, or other such things but please refrain from directly mentioning its infamous predecessor, rather obscure model it was based on, or its legendary successor. I'll spill the beans soon, but if I'm waiting 60+ days to pick it up I might as well have some fun with this!

Anyways, onto the details. It was almost certainly refinished by the entity that originally purchased it (as an incredibly large number of these guns were); to me I like buying revolvers of this vintage as shooters rather than serious collectibles for various reasons, I care much less for the "book value" than I do actually being able to take such a rare and unique firearm to the range occasionally. Mechanically it feels excellent. It may have been refurbished to very near or up to factory original operating condition when refinished and possibly fired only a few times, if at all, since then; I also think the grips could have been replaced. One thing to note is that, despite the refinish, all of the "correct identifying marks" (trying not to give too much away here lol) are present on the parts they should be on; this indicates that the restoration job was done by the original owner and not cobbled together later with a bunch of old junk parts. Either way, it is mechanically sound and this gun is very rare to find is such good operating condition which is what really matters to me. Doesn't hurt that it looks good enough to pop in a display case after a day at the range and only a collector making serious inquiries before purchase would be able to determine it was refinished. In other words I can shoot it, it's rare as hell, it looks good, and I got it for a sweet price!

Now, let's see who can figure out what it is without posting its actual name!

I just PM'd you my guess. Was I right?

 

[Enzo_Guy]

I just PM'd you my guess. Was I right?

Yep