I have had over a dozen Employee guns. I bought a Model 60 once, it had a bead blast finish, 3" barrel, red ramp front sight, presentation stocks and smooth trigger. It lettered as a 2", plain Md 60. Most, if not all of the employee gun had action jobs. I have seen more nickel Smith's in employee hands then blue. I know of a model 53 8 3/8" nickel with 6 or 7 cylinders. I had the chance once to buy a nickel Md 41 with 4 or 5 barrels. Almost all of the guns had presentation stocks. None will letter with the special features. Back in the 1970's, Smith & Wesson didn't have an FFL dealers license. When an employee bought a gun, S&W had a list of area gun stores that agreed to receive guns for employees. The employee would pick a store that they wanted the gun shipped to. The factory would put special instructions on the Packing Slip, "Ship to Stuart's Sports, Indian Orchard, MA. Attention: "Employees name". The employee would be told when the gun arrived and then they would pay Smith & Wesson for the gun.
Then go to that store, fill out the paper work and walk out with the gun. I could never confirm if S&W paid the shop for the transactions, or what compensation they received.
I also have heard of some strange barrel lengths on some revolvers. These stories were told to me by different employees. Several people have told me about Model 14's, 15's 19's and 66's with 8 3/8" barrels. Almost all of them with a nickel finish. I carried a Model 27 and a Model 29 on duty when I was a LEO. They both had 8 3/8" barrels, gold bead front sight, smooth target trigger and target hammer. Unfortunately, most will not letter because they were placed in inventory as a plain gun.

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Don Mundell