Tom A,
no need to do any tests. I took the gun to the Ohio Gun Collectors Association meeting this weekend and showed it to some friends of mine. They pointed out some details that made it clear that the gun was restored. Once they helped me overcome my emotion of wanting the gun, I saw clearly that there were badly rounded edges and buffing of some rust spots. When I got home I took out a 1906 American Eagle that I have and was able to compare without emotion. Its too bad because, on first look, the gun looked great.
While I was at the OGCA meeting, the seller sent me an email to my home stating that the gun had the zeroes added in Portugal for make it a 5 digit commercial serial number for exporting and then restored (rust spots buffed out) and then rerust blued. Thats a far cry from the 99% original that he emailed me earlier. Thank God that I had the sense to request a three day inspection. Thank God that I had friends who helped me overcome emotion so that I could look at the gun objectively. I just emailed him back that I am returning the gun. I guess that even after twelve plus years of collecting, I am still learning.
Big Norm
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