but the chance of a factory P-38 nickle finish on a late war cyq is extremely slim and none
And I'm pretty sure "Slim" is out of town.....
If I recall correctly SpreeWerke (cyq) was the last of the subcontractors chronologically, producing P.38 from about mid war till the end. They made quite a few, and their guns have a reputation for having the roughest exterior finish of any of the WWII P.38s.
I seriously doubt they would have wasted time, and valuable nickel during the latter part of the war.
However nickel plating is something that was not uncommon, done after the war, by/for GIs who wanted the gun to look pretty or to protect it. None of the very few nickel finished P.38s and Lugers I've seen were done by the manufacturer, every one was done by someone else after the war was over.
(and before people began to realize the collector value of original condition guns).
As far as I'm concerned, absent a verified letter from SpreeWerke naming the gun by ser# and stating that they gave it a nickel finish when they made it, then it has been refinished.
If the asking price is really $2995, somebody's been smoking their lunch..
If it $1995, its still barking stupid high. In my opinion...