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Refinished Winchesters
stevemm
Member Posts: 46 ✭✭
A friend wants to sell his Winchester collection and asked me to look at them. Among them are two refinished pieces: a 1892 Saddle Ring and a 1906 Expert (.22 cal. in nickel). Is there a rule of thumb on about how much refinishing reduces the value of the piece?
Comments
Not exactly... it depends more on which Model and variation Winchester, and the rarity of the features on the gun in question.
Standard Model 1892 Carbines are very common... Trappers are not. A refinished Trapper (especially one of them with a 12" or 13" barrel) will retain more of its value due its relative rarity. A standard run-of-the-mill 20" barreled SRC that has been refinished is a serious hit in the value... especially if it has been poorly done. All to often, some local 'smith simply reblues one of them, and in the process, polishes the crap out of it (removing original markings or significantly degrading them).
As for the Model 1906 Expert, those were factory nickle plated... what makes you believe that it has been refinished? The 1906 Expert is quite rare in comparison to the standard model, so it may not suffer too much of a value loss.
The real truth is in the eye of the beholder on refinished Winchesters, but generally speaking, purists will steer clear of refinished specimens (preferring to continue the hunt for that high condition, original piece). I hope my ramblings have not confused the issue more than they already were for you, but there are simply no hard fast rules about this topic... other than the fact that refinished Winchesters are never worth as much as an untouched original.
Bert H.
Real Men use a SINGLE-SHOT!
WACA Historian & Life Member
The 92 is a pretty standard piece in 25-20. The refinishing is pretty good, with all markings intact.
The owner of the guns had the 1906 re-nickeled. It was the model with all nickel (no blue parts) and is quite rare. Unfortunately the nickel showed some wear and he had it re-nickeled.
The Model 1892 in my estimation will suffer about a 60% drop in value, maybe more, because it is in the least desirable of all the calibers in the 1892.
The Model 1906 however, may be a different story... depending upon the quality of the re-nickle. If it was properly stripped of all the original nickle plating before being re-plated, it could (and should) look very good, and retain a significant portion of its value. Again, it will be up to the buyer to decide how much of a detractor the re-nickled finish really is. If it were me, and the work is of superb quality, I would be looking for a 25% or so reduction in the value, but this is just my opinion.
Does this fellow happen to have any Winchester Model 1885s in his collection?
Bert H.
Real Men use a SINGLE-SHOT!
WACA Historian & Life Member
He has a 73, 86, 92, 94, 95 and the 1906. Sorry, no single shots.
Steve
Bert,
He has a 73, 86, 92, 94, 95 and the 1906. Sorry, no single shots.
Steve
Rats[:(] Thanks the the reply though[:)]
Bert H.
Real Men use a SINGLE-SHOT!
WACA Historian & Life Member
Of course this is just my narrow minded, uneducated, unschooled opinion.
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