Altering Repros, does it make a difference?

[Bruce Day]

Originally Posted by WmRike

There is no way you can modify a repro to increase its value. That's a starting point.

There are working repros and collector repros, but I would venture to say that the collector attitude holds sway. A person looking for a working gun will not slide as much money across the table as the collector. A gun modified to make it more "workable" is automatically fishing about in the lower pond. A gun modified to make it look better may in fact have added appeal, but the fact remains that it is not original, and that will be a buyer's bargaining chip at the time of sale.

That is an opinion; however, Parker Reproductions that have been re-case colored with Parker correct charcoal case color hardening and re-finished with a Parker correct shellac and oil finish have been selling at a premium over slightly worn original Reproductions with the thin, chemical, easily worn case colors and polyurethane varnish. The ones I am aware of, though, have not sold at an increased price sufficient to fully account for the expense of the re-finish if done at retail cost. I am aware of only a few such guns, and presumably not all. One such gun was sold at the spring Tulsa show, another by a private dealer off show.

It may be beyond the scope of the original issue, but there are also those Repros in the white that were sold and engraved by masters such as Churchill and Gournet. Those have sold at many multiples of original price. Some are owned by significant Parker collectors.