I thought they ended in 144000.



I think it's been re-nickeled. Could it be assembled from a later .38? Or maybe she mis-read the serial number. Any thoughts?

Conventional wisdom is that the highest serial number is between 144000 and 145000. On the grounds that the simplest and easiest explanation is likely to be the correct one, I'd guess this is a case of a misread serial number, with the second digit being a 3.

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David Wilson

I agree, its not possible. .32-20s lived in their own serial sequence. I look at all I see. I've seen a bunch in the 140,000s, and a lot more below it. But I've never seen one at or above 145,000.

Better still, we have a lot of posters here who look at them too, and if we've missed 5,000 guns, something isn't right (including Roy's records.)

What we tell most people is the serial number that counts is on the butt of the gun. But the easiest ones to read are often under the barrel or on the back of the cylinder. You read those smaller numbers with a magnifier. It usually clears up any problems with the butt number.

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Dick Burg

Thanks for the replies. I too think it was a mis-read serial number. I agree, the numbers in places other than the butt of the gun are very tiny but they are always clear and unworn and clear up the mystery.

To the moderator.... Sorry I included the link to the live auction.