[Ron Smith]

Hal,

It's pretty subjective. Most dealers will "up-grade" (read exaggerate) the condition for obvious reasons.

I go by the following:

High edge wear or "very slight" hoster wear , no fading = 95-98%

High edge wear with side rubs on front barrel band and leading edge of side rails and side plate or slight fading = 90-95%

Light grip strap wear or fading front and back drops it to = 85%

Blue wear or fading on on frame, barrel or grip straps = 80%

Pitting or heavy blue wear = - 60%

It's difficult to explain in words and as I said, subjective. One persons 90% might be another's 80%.

At 90-98% it had better be in very nice overall condition. When they quote "NRA" conditions be very weary. NRA ratings are pretty lax.

Another consideration is rarity. If very rare, condition percentage is often ignored completely or viewed in a whole different light.

I hope this helps somewhat.

Ron