Dave,
Boxes are a tough proposition and believe me, I have asked Roy many questions on that subject. I believe the factory did not really care too much about them except it was something to put the gun in. Pre war, it seems that the first HDs were in maroon one piece boxes and when the 38/44 Outdoorman came out in Blue Picture Boxes, the HDs went to that also. Since they were still only available in 5" barrel, only one box was necessary. It appears that the 4" HDs were shipped in the 5" box and the 6.5" guns were shipped in overstamped .44 Spl maroon one piece boxes. I believe that after the war, S&W used maroon boxes that were available and since there wasn't a dedicated 4" box that they ordered the gold boxes and began using those. I bought a 2 piece maroon box that had a 91000 serial number on it! It should have been in a gold box. Another theory is that we see boxes used to ship repaired guns back to the owner that may not be the proper box-who knows? I guess one day in all the documents from the factory, we may come across some invoices for the boxes if they were made outside the factory and then determine what should have been the correct box.
I hope this helps.
As for the gun in the thread, it is probably a 1949 vintage with long action and pre war style hammer and trigger or a transition gun. $1250 for a NIB transition with matching grips is not unreasonable but that is up to the buyer to decide.
Bill

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