This is as it should be. What a great example of an early FSS with great leather & factory letter!! This is just a great example of a REAL ol´ West hogleg!!
http://www.gunsinternational.com/Colt-SAA-44-40-Etch-Panel-1879-Letter-Rig.cfm?gun_id=100062597
Words fail me. :-X
When I first started collecting - a revolver in this shape would've sat on the table for show after show, because of its condition.
That was back when 'patina' meant 'rust' - and today, there are so few examples coming up for sale that folks will pay exorbitant prices for them.
Back then - I remember a cased Model 1851 Navy Colt - with all accessories - priced at $125.
It took a couple of years before it left that dealer in a trade - and that was during the Centennial of the Civil War, when all manner of stuff came out of America's closets...
Times changed - available references got better and more numerous, as did photography - and folks started to want provenance if they were going to be asked high prices.
Today - we have a far, far better-educated collector who 'will' pay serious money for good, verifiable guns, so there's still fakery - but not quite as much - and dealers are far more forthcoming with information.
Didn't use to be that way...
Vaya,
Scouts Out!
At that price, could be one of the few guns on GunsInternational that hasn't already sold.