A lesson in fakery or almost "took" by a good mechanic

[Olle]

Originally Posted by DonVoigt

While this work may have started out as a true and known to the owner restoration- the work was not cheap- by the time it passed to a second owner or a dealer and to me it is just a fake and an example of what we as collectors have to be on the lookout for.

I usually say that a bad copy is a reproduction, and a good copy is a fake. This is just a tongue in cheek comment, but there is always a chance that a good reproduction will be misrepresented later on.

I really don't think you're helping the fakers by posting this, when they're working at this level they already know. You would have to use period correct stamps (right size, font, shape etc) to re-create the markings, and you would also have to strike them in the same way as they did at the factory (straight, nicely lined up, spaced correctly, same depth etc). For a perfect, undetectable job you would have so much time and money in stamps, jigs and labor that it's just not worth it. Pantographed markings have a very distinct appearance, and they're a dead giveaway on most guns.