The seller thought the scabbard had been repainted as the surface looked to have a texture. Others (all laymen admittedly) looked at the enlarged image here and agreed that this was not the way anodising or paint aged and nor was the gap between the covering and the chape a scratch which somehow miraculously missed the immediately adjoining the nickel. Generally, the scabbard fittings are in good shape - the ball has had a couple of minor dinks over the years and there are minor surface scratches on other parts of the fittings. The covering shows wear to both sides. Ignore the "shine" - this was a combination of the light and a new coat of protective wax. "Soaked back", the natural colour is a matt/satin black.[img]http://https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ECpzlX4AEQmPb?format=jpg&name=large[/img]