In case I've never made it clear, let me say that pawn shops are the greatest places on Earth. I found this Colt a1 in a pawn shop in the culturally enlightening and lovely state of Arkansas. According to my professionally amateur opinion, it's totally correct with the original finish. It came with a '44 dated rig and an extra GI mag.
As an aside: As soon as I decided the gun was mine (which occurred the second I saw it sitting on the desk), I made sure that the pistol would absolutely not leave my hands until I was in the safety and comfort of my rental Jeep. To avoid being shot for shoplifting, I asked my partner to go grab my FFL folder from the car for me while I laid out the cash on the table. As soon as my man walks out, two slimeball neck-tattooed Rhodes Scholars enter the shop and start eying the holster and extra mag on the counter. They turn to me and see my arms crossed, Colt in hand at my side. "Can I see yer guuuun?" says Poet Laureate number one. In my head was "I'd rather jump off the Golden Gate Bridge than let your meth-twitchy booger hooks filthy up this historic gem. In fact, I'm not even sure I'd urinate on your head if you were engulfed in flames. Now please remove yourself and your wretched Nobel Prize winning associate from my field of vision." But what came out was a polite yet taut "I'd really rather you not." Gubernatorial elect number two muttered something, untermensch doctoral candidate muttered something in return, and they both walked out sulking, muttering away. I made a comment to nobody in particular that summed up my remorse and that I never meant to be rude. Thankfully the pawnmeister and an older gentleman getting his rifle scoped by the smith laughed it off and told me I played it right. There might be a moral there, likely not, you decide. I just knew that even Vishnu himself would not be removing that pistol from my grasp.
Anyway, back to it. This is likely the sexiest a1 I've ever held, and it wasn't priced for the 1%ers. My hands were shaking and my knees were rubbery for the next hour. Enjoy.