Congrats on the pre-Model 10!
Okay,I have to jump in on this thread.
I got a similar gun just 2 days ago for $145. Mine is a .38 special made somewhere between 1948 and 1952.
It was $135 cash, or $145 credit, but I had to use the card, so $145. Not bad at all, and I got a free holster and soft case for it.
Lots of bluing wear, and some rust freckles, especially on the hammer and trigger. The worst was that the insides were all gunked up with petrified WD40. YUCK.
The gun cleaned up nicely, and I replaced the ugly rubber grips with some Altamont rosewood stocks I had bought for a Model 10 I own. One thing about this gun is that the hammer doesn't look like the hammers that came stock with these guns. It had a shiny (vs case hardened) finish, and the hammer spur curves down.
Here are some before and after pics. The "after" pics are where the gun has wood stocks.
