I recently picked up a Marlin 1889 in 32-20.
It has a deluxe, checkered pistol grip stock with extra grain wood.
1/2 octagon and 1/2 round 24" barrel.
Half magazine.
Lyman combination tang peep.
Typical buckhorn rear barrel sight with elevator.
The front sight looks like a Lyman bead or something similar.
Bore is about a 9 out of 10.
Action is smooth and tight.
The stock has dings and marks overall but no cracks or chips or repairs.
The hammer and lever still have most of the case color hardened finish.
The receiver has about 80-85% blue finish mixed with freckling.
The barrel has about 90% finish remaining with light freckling here and there.
The magazine has about 90-95% finish.
Serial number is 52,xxx putting it in the 1891 DOM range.

I'm not knowledgeable on these older Marlins at all and the above is what I pulled from the Brophy book ...

What I do know is that just before I got the rifle, the guy who owned it took the buttplate off (because it had surface rust on it) and brought it to a local gunsmith and had it refinished!!!!! Well after closer inspection, I was happy to see the guy simply painted it. 5 minutes of paint stripping and I was rewarded with the original, worn, mottled case color finish - needless to say I am pleased!

Has anyone ever had an old special order Marlin lettered; and if so, does the letter give details on the special order features?

Thanks in advance!

You can "antique" that buttplate with some watered-down vinegar. The acid from the vinegar will lighten the bluing when applied carefully to not over attack the bluing. If the buttplate hasn't been modified in another way, this can restore some of the patina you would expect to see on that era of a rifle.

Thank you HitnRun, anything would be better than the way it is now.
If I'm reading correctly, I believe the buttplates on these were case color hardened. Does anyone know if this is true?

Update:

Since I first posted I found out the buttplate had been painted, and after removing the paint, was rewarded with the original case color hardened finish!!!

beautiful rifle!

Thank you

What a beautiful rifle. And it is a model 1889, not nearly as common as the 1894.

Thank you!

Man dont know what it set you back but this thing is Sweet! & 32-20 is a fun round to shoot!