No Serial Number?

To me it looks like the "mottled re-blue job" is just some type of laquer or appied finish that is starting to come off. It's not on all of the surfaces of the receiver. I wonder if you could take off the stock, go over it with some acetone, and find a presentation carbine underneath? But then there's the question of why the sight is messed up.

The reason for the mottleing is the reblue after metal alteration. The weapon was parkerized to begin with and if you don't remove ALL the park finish correctly you will get that mottle affect.

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Originally Posted by Hercules Powder

I was just looking at the photos in the ImageShack of the receiver, flipping between the shots of the front and of the back of the receiver. May be it is just the way I am looking at it but is the STD. PRO. engraved instead of stamped. Those letters look different to me than the lettering on the front of the receiver.

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Here it is up close. You can also see the fine scratches side to side from where it has been worded on.

I definitely think it's been scrubbed and then polished. They may have removed the rear sight to keep it from interfering from whatever power tool they used to buff it, and then reinstalled it backwards.

The finish is cold blue. It's common for cold blue to have a blotchy uneven finish and purple hue.

Also, if this is a bring back what is the by far the most likely scenario?
A soldier brings it back and removes the serial number in fear of someone tracking down the then missing rifle, or a vet having a rarest of rare presentation carbines in the first place?

There's no doubt in my mind. But picture it, scrubbing the number off in 1946 or so and having no idea that nothing would ever come of not doing it.

Ive thought the same thing seeing otherwise pristine 1911's with the 'US Property' stamps scrubbed off. :crying:

Harlan,
You've given us a fine example of a STD !

;-)

Charlie-painter777

Some twenty years later a mystery may be solved. A friend had an old 1911 gov with no ser# . I didn't know anything about them at the time. he no longer has it but it may have been used for parts and the lower thrown away. It sounds like it may have been a GI bring back and scrubbed. My friend speculated it was a proto type and did not have a ser# or it was used by a secret gov agency(pick one) but I'm sure he was just trying to justify keeping it. He did inherit it so nothing lost i guess.