Quote Originally Posted by lyman View Post
5 yrs or so ago, I sold 4 M1's for a friend,

all were restorations to as they would have left the factory in each year,
all were done well, he searched long and hard for the correct stuff with matching finishes,
not a single piece was refinished

the Winchester brought $2500, the Springfield's (1945/1944/1943) brought $2000 each,
2 owners down the road the "restoration" tag is dropped.

Garands are a bad bet for collectors.

For one thing there are a kabillion of them out there, for another, the restorations and outright humps.

CMP rifles with certificate/data sheet are a bit better. The CMP correct grade means "they only effed with it maybe a little."

I have a HRA Greek return correct from about '08. It was a swap as the first one they sent me had a misindexed barrel from the factory which meant the op rod couldn't not drag on the ferrule.

The one they sent in swap was all original but loaded with dimples from bullet tips. Did choose to steam them out which as we know does a number on the original finish.

Then there was the CMP's hot water cleaning technique. Gotta say some of the decisions made in Anniston were head-scratchers.