Moot point. Restocked and tang has been shortened.
Yes, and these facts have been noted by the seller in the Item Description. I have bought from this seller, and will say that they do provide a lot of detailed photographs of the guns they sell, and also strive to provide accurate descriptions of the condition of the guns they sell.
I do wonder if the bidders noticed those important details, as the bidding is already up over $14,000 with over 9 days to go. I almost made a rookie mistake a few years ago when bidding on a C Grade Nichols & Lefever shotgun from a different seller. Despite the fact that there were many pictures provided, I missed the fact that one of the hammers was a replacement with less engraving than the other original hammer. The seller covered his butt by stating that he knew little about the gun, and advised potential buyers to look at his pics before bidding. I was the high bidder when I finally noticed the mismatched hammers with only about ten minutes to go. The end of the sale had reset several times as another guy who wanted it just as badly kept bidding higher. I breathed a big sigh of relief when I was outbid with less than a minute to go. With the Item Description and the many pictures provided, I don't believe the seller would have felt obligated to accept a return since the mismatched hammers were clearly visible to anyone who looked carefully. That was a good lesson in gun buying.
The unlucky winning bidder must have realized, as I did, that his chances of ever finding an original Nichols & Lefever hammer with the correct engraving were very slim. Several months later, he listed the same gun with a reserve quite a bit lower than what he had paid, and took a loss on the sale.
