[Ron Wood]

Pete,
If you look back through the thread you will find that there are several who agreed with Garfield's assesment of cold blue (BTW I agree also). Garfield and some of those folks have been at this a long time and have developed an "eye" for such a thing, probably through having had the experience themselves. I also know of a couple of gentlemen who routinely used to touch up muzzles and side plates to enhance the looks of otherwise really nice pieces. Another could so skillfully use plastic wood and shoe polish on chipped grips that it was really hard to detect. Once you started to clean either of these "enhancements" it became immediately clear what had happened.
In defense of all dealers (not that they really need it) they handle many more guns than we ever will. Sometimes they do not give them the scrutiny they should and pass on what later turns out to be less than they had represented it to be.
Some dealers will acknowedge their mistake and eat the loss. All too often, it is the customer that eats it.