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07-11-2010, 08:13 PM
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1917 .38 Cal Smith and Wesson Secret Service Special
I have a Smith & Wesson .38 Cal Secret Service Special, I guess it's a hand ejector, it breaks down like a single shot shotgun and pops the empty casings out. It's dated April 22, 1917 on a little placque on the right side of the revolver. It's serial number is 11, and it's located in two places, one on the bottom outside trigger guard and the other on the botton the grip on the left side. On the left hand side of the barrel it's imprinted with "Secret Service Special", on the top of the barrel it's imprinted with "For 38 Smith & Wesson CTGS". Does any one have any information on this revolver and does it have any value.
I was originally told that in 1917 the Secret Service put out a contract for a new revolver and Smith and Wesson, Remington, Colt and another company all made 15 prototypes. Smith and Wesson did not get the contract, and I believe Remington did. Is there any truth to this?
Thanks
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07-11-2010, 08:28 PM
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I'm pretty sure what you have is not S&W but a copy. Any chance you can post a few detailed photos? Kyle
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07-11-2010, 10:02 PM
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Hello and welcome! The gun is not a Smith and Wesson. Here is a link to a forum with more information.
'Secret Service Special' Revolver - TheFirearmsForum.Com
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John. SWCA #1586
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07-12-2010, 06:41 PM
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Thanks, I checked out the other forum and sounds like you were right on. Oh well I thought I had something special but as always I'm the fool.
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07-13-2010, 02:54 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ronmeyer
Thanks, I checked out the other forum and sounds like you were right on. Oh well I thought I had something special but as always I'm the fool.
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Not a fool, just going through the learning process like we all are.
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John. SWCA #1586
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01-22-2013, 09:04 PM
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.38 Smith and Wesson Secret Service revolver
I know this is a thread from over 2 years ago ...
But I came across one on GB today.
I had never heard of the model, so I googled it and that brought me to this old post concerning a similar odd ball revolver.
Last edited by handejector; 02-10-2014 at 06:21 PM.
Reason: Remove auction link: restructure post to make sense
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01-22-2013, 09:28 PM
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It's for real (except for the price being asked), and it is a .38 Smith & Wesson - cartridge. Probably an old Iver Johnson revolver, they looked like that. In the late 19th and early 20th century, these knockoffs of S&W breaktops were very common and popular because they were cheap. Manufacturers such as IJ, H&R, H&A, etc. often used a variety of strange-sounding names for them. In one of the older issues of Gun Digest there was a fairly extensive story about these revolvers, along with a listing of scores of oddball names they were sold under. They used to be seen in quantity at gun shows in various states of deterioration for a few bucks each (you never saw one new in the box). But they are rarely seen now. I wonder where all of them went?
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01-22-2013, 10:48 PM
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Thank you DeWalt.
I find myself reminded to remain vigilant.
I asked the seller:
Hello Bruiser: Please tell me, is this revolver manufactured by Smith and Wesson? What markings do you find on the firearm? Serial numbers, or patent dates, initials, anything. Thank you Sir. Buster
This was the response:
it says on the top of the barrel "for .38 smith & wesson ctgs".on the side of the barrel there is some pitting but you can still make out secret service and there is no pitting on the other side.and the serial is #323737.there is still a small amount of blue left.a nice piece of history.
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01-23-2013, 04:49 PM
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That tells the tale. They actually are pieces of history, just not very valuable pieces of history. I think President McKinley was shot with one of these revolver types. I suppose there are probably collectors of such revolvers, as there was certainly a wide variety of them made.
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01-24-2013, 01:23 AM
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The "Secret Service Special" name was actually a trademark of the Fred Biffar Co., which was a mail order hardware company out of Chicago from the 1880s to about 1920. They were in the same type of business as Sears and Montgomery Ward.
As mentioned above, they sold top break pistols under that name that were made by either Iver Johnson, Harrington & Richardson, Hopkins & Allen, Meridian, Crescent and a few other off brand manufactures.
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05-27-2013, 11:10 PM
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Secret Service Special
My father in law has one of these. He ask me to take it home and clean it up for him. Haven't touched it yet. trying to get info first. I see no one has posted pictures yet. Here's a few. Any info would be nice. Bottom of trigger guard 26504, left side of barrel "-SECRET SERVICE SPECIAL-", top of barrel "-FOR 38 SMITH & WESSON CTGS-", and on the right side safety "PAT MAY 22 1917". these are all the markings I've found without disassembling.
What do we know?
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05-28-2013, 12:26 AM
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yj93ben, As said above, these guns were made for the Fred Biffar Co., Chicago., mostly by Iver Johnson, however some were made by other gun makers. They all have the SSS logo on their grip circles. Your's has the unusual button on the right side for a safety hammer block activation. A seldom seen accessory. Ed.
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02-10-2014, 06:12 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by opoefc
yj93ben, As said above, these guns were made for the Fred Biffar Co., Chicago., mostly by Iver Johnson, however some were made by other gun makers. They all have the SSS logo on their grip circles. Your's has the unusual button on the right side for a safety hammer block activation. A seldom seen accessory. Ed.
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I have one of these, and the "button" on the right side is not a button, but actually a lube point that contains a small piece of felt inside. One would oil the felt every once in a while.
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02-10-2014, 07:33 PM
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darn it! i just "liked" a 4 year old post, got to be more alert...zombies everywhere lol
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02-11-2014, 12:58 AM
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[QUOTE=kamloops67;137715244]darn it! i just "liked" a 4 year old post, got to be more alert...zombies everywhere lol[/QUOTE
A dollar to a doughnut says you aren't the only that has ever done that. Larry
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