[saxman]

An interesting question, 'force-matching', and one on which few agree. Suffice it to say that as Dwight stated, the practice is frowned upon by serious collectors, but gleefully enjoyed by people who just want to get rid of that glaring wrong number right there on the sideplate, the first thing you see on the pistol. It's fun looking for a 'matching' sideplate, and no harm is done until you, or someone else, perhaps not knowing about your successful search, sells the pistol as 'matching'. There are several alternatives: You could find a nice commercial sideplate without the number stamped on the flat; you could find an Erfurt sideplate with matching number, and no collector would mistake that for the original one; you could install a repro sideplate with no number; you could just leave it alone and enjoy it, which is what I would recommend. I had to find a sideplate for my DWM because the original, while functional, had been ruined by someone trying to remove pitting - it actually had holes in it. I found one with the matching number, but it was too dented and pitted to suit me, so I used an Erfurt plate with the wrong number but closely matching finish color and wear. The pistol looks great, and the plate snapped in like it had been made for it. I'd say, if your pistol looks good and the sideplate is functional, just go with it.