Thank you carbon 12 for a most responsive reply.
From the pictures, it appears that legitimate examples of "Nickel plated trimmings" can include a crescent butt-plate (note my example on a 250/3000 is the expected shotgun style and is blued, not plated), the lever, and possibly, given the appearance of the high grade engraved example, the breech bolt bolt. The receiver could also be plated by the factory. But Murray lists this as a separately priced option. In any event, appearance of the lever in the thread you sent is not unlike that on mine and that is encouraging re. my interest.
My second unanswered question is whether or not "Special Order" features are covered in a letter? If someone can affirm this, than there is a $25 path to satisfy my curiosity. I've never seen a Savage letter and don't know what one might reveal in the case of a special order.
My contention with the posters really isn't whether they are right or wrong about a refinish but the willingness a couple to imply I am stupid for things I pointed out myself right at the beginning! In addition, their only issue seems to be perfected originality of the piece, not in understanding what was available from Savage and without really understanding that themselves. And arguing things like "finish color" from my lousy pictures without consideration of camera, lighting, color sensitivity and balance. My pictures were taken hand held in a dim room by flash with an old, cheap camera. Give me five minutes with Photoshop and I'll make them any color you want. As Sara Palin says: Sheeesh! My God. It's me and only me that has looked at the innards including down a bore scope at the barrel! And its also me that knows the gummed up checkering is mostly some still tacky linseed oil. If that ruins originality, then there is not an original piece to be had at a gun show in America. But thank you to whoever it was that put up some very good pictures taken in daylight of a couple of very nice Savages.
The scholarship on Winchesters and Colts is pretty deep and supports pretty good collector expertise, probably because of their deeper role in American History. Not to mention that "mistakes" with Colts and Winchesters can be a lot more expensive. Murray is a good start for Savage, but I had not considered that maybe few Savage collectors even understood the details of info put forward by Murray. I almost didn't put my originality disclaimer re. my Savage 219 Zipper just to let them pompously assert that Savage never chambered the round. One still might.
Within reason, I really don't give a FF what this piece is worth but am genuinely curious about the originality of a feature I have not previously seen on a Savage 1899. It is, minimally, however, in terms of wear, mechanical function, and appearance (relative to the normal "scoped" 99 gray rat out there) a superb example and better worth the price paid than most 1899s you see out there. My God, scarred up and scoped 99Es that were junky when they left the factory with sling swivels and genuine pine (or whatever) stocks are tagged $650 at gun shows! I just last week watched one go at auction for %525. And your typical gray 99 350/3000(or other TD with a scope and shaky barrel) has a $900+ price tag. Anyway ....
Thanks.
