How many S&Ws were full plate is anybody's guess, but probably not many. The old statement that we should never say never when it comes to S&W often comes to mind while reading the wealth of information shared on this Forum.
Joe (jleiper) has posted about the number of Model 3, 2nd Russians out there that were full plate. I hope he catches this thread and comments on these few nickel Model 3 Russians.
My 2nd Model was in the allotted block and shipped to M.W. Robinson specifically for delivery to H@G in a 130 pistol shipment.
An interesting footnote about my letter was that of the 130 pistols shipped 110 were blued and only 20 were done in "full plate"
Here is another thread about full plate S&Ws.
Smith Wesson Model 3 American lettered I tend to think we quickly dismiss full plate guns and they may have been ordered from the factory that way. I am not even sure if a letter will tell you exactly how the revolver left the factory?