but i saw another post on here with someone wanting a date for a smith an wesson revolver and well i have one i think might be even earlier then his, its a .38 special ctg


it has a number of 245xx by the cylinder hinge

and a number of 2815xx on the bottom of the grip and on the cylinder itself, the cylinder also is marked with an S where on the bottom of the grip on the other side of what looks like for a lanyard is a mark of a V

thank you

heres a picture
http://i56.tinypic.com/2enb6g1.jpg

Seems to be a Victory model if it is marked with an "S" and or "V." It looks to have been chromed rather than nickeled- the hammer and trigger shouldn't have been plated by whoever did the job years ago. Likely, it was made sometime during the war- a picture of the grip frame would help a bit more.

I'm certain that some of the gentlemen that specialize in "Victory models" will by along shortly, likely after this thread is moved to the correct portion of the forum- where most of the experts in this field, for lack of a better term, hang out.

Also, although those stag grips are not original to the revolver, they are very nice and really set it off nicely. I see a little piece of copper that was likely attached to a Tyler T-grip at one time, but someone likely pulled it off incorrectly without removing the grips- which is a pity because now they seem to be bringing around $50 or so. The trigger shoe on the trigger (likely also made by Tyler) is a good piece to help in shooting, but don't use it on the gun if it is going to be carried in certain types of holsters- it could catch on the holster upon inserting the revolver! Just check the fitment first.

Also, it almost looks as though the back of the sideplate above the grip is protruding a bit- if you have a hollow ground screwdriver that correctly fits the screws, check the screws for tightness- they look a bit loose, but it may just be the picture or the sideplate may have been bent sometime by someone who didn't know how to remove it.

__________________
Lost it all in a boat accident

im going to assume you mean with the grips off, i will try to later

and also about the coating, the dark spot around the edge of the cylinder seems to be where it came off, probably from being shot.. i dont know too much about the gun, it was my grandfathers on my dads side, i hardly knew him unfortunately

i do have some more pictures, ill just edit them into this post

The SV is the last version of the Victory Model. I think it was made in 1945. The guns carried a V serial prefix (the letters are part of the serial and should not be omitted from descriptions) starting in 1942 and in 1945 a safety feature was incorporated and the S was added to signify this fact.