Just my two cents by I can say with certainty that there are many, many items that were manufactured/requested by the factory as samples that for one reason or another were not produced beyond the original,examples but are legitimate Ruger collectibles, in my mind, they are Ruger items...I also know that Ruger has had many very limited special items made to give as gifts to friends, distributor principles, etc. I have a few examples of such items including many 50th anniversary items that were one offs etc. I also know of 50 black leather SXS hand guards made as a special gifts and never available to the public...
Some items that show up are real...but how will we know? Does there have to be common knowledge, must they be shown on the website or in a catalog etc....I have items that I know the provenance of....maybe I need to ask WBR Jr for letters of authenticity, but to me, that would be classless and possibly, offensive....