FWIW, your "I'll take it" had conditions attached. Not to mention that a seller might be reticent to sell to someone other than the actual purchaser since the straw buyer syndrome is on many prudent sellers minds nowadays. Not saying that having family buy it for someone out of state is a straw...
I think what Cholo is referring to is the difference between case hardened vs. case colored. The former is an actual tempering process, whereas the latter is superficial coloring only. If it is case colored, it would be like the relatively inexpensive Cowboy that Colt offered a few years ago...
Yeah, I must be one whose data was compromised in the latest theft. Been getting phishing emails from what purports to be Chase bank, but isn't. They do look official, though.