Wondering if my Model 19 was reblued at one point

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GaryED50

New member
Hi all I finally picked up my model 19 and after looking it over I'm wondering if its been reblued.

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The gun doesn't appear to have the bright high polished blue of most model 19s.
Perhaps it was made that way on special order, or was aftermarket bead-blasted and reblued. Either way, it is far from a bad finish job. All the markings are sharp. There is even raised metal around the stamped lettering.
 
I agree with Bill. My Model 19 has that "bright high polished blue" while the one pictured appears bead blasted to roughen up the surface and reduce shine. It looks like a good job and quite practical. The markings are quite sharp, not overly rounded off like many refinish jobs you see.

That original price sticker is nice! I got mine in 1976 and I think it was about $240, can't remember for sure. Yours is an '80s model?
 
I do not think this gun has been refinished. It is a 19 made in the 80's isn't it? Is it a round butt? I believe you have a Conn. State Police or the US State Department gun which were contract guns often with no additional markings but were done in matte blue. They were 2.5" 19s.

Search the S&W forum and you will find many references to them! I believe your sweet deal is even sweeter than you initially thought.



Also look at the box... Under features it says CTSTATE!
 
Now this one is reblued...

If it was supposed to be bright blue it should look close to this one. Although this one has been reblued.

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You can see where the logo got polished out a bit...

This was the "natural" before finish...

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But you can see how bright the original polish was even after abuse.

P.S.

WVSIG has a possible explanation that appeared instantly as I posted. They are a close match and the box would make it one of the special orders!!!

Learn something new everyday. What a deal!
 
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The box label notes "CTSTATE" which I assume means some feature(s) is/are associated with CT requirements or with a CT state contract. If the gun was made on a CT state police contract, the matte finish may be part of that contract. Some departments ordered their guns with a dull finish because 1) it was cheaper and/or 2) the revolvers would not shine and give away an officer's position under low light conditions.

Jim
 
It is a CT trooper contract 2.5" with a matte finish.... That is a great find and a great buy for $450.

Again jump over to the S&W forum and you will find all the info you need to confirm this.
 
I think it's a reblue for a couple of reasons. First, it has a fairly poor matte finish while the vast majority of Model 19s had the higher luster finish. Even it is a factory matte finish, it just looks "rough" to me. The gun doesn't have much of a turn line but the lettering and the SW logo are not as sharp as they should be.

Here's how it is supposed to look --- even in my mediocre photos, you can see it has a clear turn line but the blued finish is finer and the lettering sharper than the OP's.



 
I do not think this gun has been refinished. It is a 19 made in the 80's isn't it? Is it a round butt? I believe you have a Conn. State Police or the US State Department gun which were contract guns often with no additional markings but were done in matte blue. They were 2.5" 19s.

Search the S&W forum and you will find many references to them! I believe your sweet deal is even sweeter than you initially thought.
Click to expand...

Its definitely a 80's round butt. No barrel pin which means at least after 1982 and I removed the grips its a round butt. I missed the CTSTATE on the box. WOW

Gary
 
It appears to have a smooth target trigger. Is that the case because if it does that would be consistent with the CT guns.
 
Among collectors the Connecticut State sandblast blue brings a modest premium.

The first time I saw one was one owned by a well-known collector, who explained to me what it was. I thought it was a horrid Bangor Punta finish.

I've seen one or two since, none nearly as nice as the one you've picked up.
 
That should be a 19-5 and it's absolutely correct. The Pachmayr grips were standard on this version. There is also an identical batch in the same configuration that were made for the State Departments Diplomatic Security Service.

Here's a picture of a Diplomatic Security Service 19-5 that I owned.

 
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