And best of all, it appears to be a “six screw”, meaning it has the strain screw, indicating the presence of a leaf mainspring. I believe Brother Hondo44 refers to these as the transitional models as they had the post-War hammer block, but were otherwise pretty much the same as the pre-War version, differing only in very small details.

I wholeheartedly agree with your description of it as a “gem” and would even qualify as clockwork in its construction. I’ve always thought of the I frames as being like miniaturized versions of their K-, L-, and N framed brethren. I can’t prove it, but I think to get smaller like this, the tolerances would have to be smaller just to make them work. In that kind of condition, yours would qualify as the “Faberge Egg” of revolvers.

Just think, twenty years ago collectors almost universally ignored the I frames, and now it seems like everybody wants one or more. The fine example Frailer was able to find should make us all set up and take notice. My personal example is in my EDC rotation, and hasn’t had that much finish on it for decades.

I think I can see a little bit of a turn line on the cylinder, and if so I would strongly suggest you actually shoot it. With my factory equivalent reloads I can consistently hit man sized targets at 50 yards. You will be amazed at what this miniature can do, and at “bad breath” ranges, it can be counted on to do “minute of bad guy” groups. It’s not just a pretty toy!

Froggie