S&W mdl 1 1/2, 32 rimfire

kokehead · #1 02-23-2010, 11:54 PM

New member here, and like the 1905 hand ejector I posted, I got this little gun from my brother's estate. A local gunsmith looked it up in the Firearms Blue Book and I got this information from him: It is a S&W model 1 1/2, 5 shot, 32 rimfire. He said the Bird Head grip and fluted cylinder make it an earlier model. They were produced 1868-1875, and he said this one was manfactured in 1869. Serial #s ran from 26301 to 127000. The ser. # is 66225, I don't if that jives with a mfg date of 1869 or not. I know nothing about this old (if it is) of a gun, so hopefully someone here can enlighten me

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Any help will really be appreciated.
Thanks, Murf

Here are some pics:
Picasa Web Albums - murphy332 - SW Model 1 12

deadin · #2 02-24-2010, 12:51 AM

Murf,
Your Model 1 1/2 is a 2nd issue. The dates you were given are correct for the production period, but I don't think yours is quite that early. I have ser# 49233 and it lettered as shipping Nov. 29th, 1870, so yours is probably soon after then. (early 1871 would be my guess.)

kokehead · #3 02-24-2010, 01:08 AM

Thanks Dean, you're probably right. Any idea on the value?

deadin · #4 02-24-2010, 01:30 AM

I somewhat suspicious of the finish. It appears that the hammer stud on the right side has been buffed flat and the overall gun looks buffed. The bluing just doesn't look quite right. I can't really tell from your pictures but the hammer, trigger and ejector rod (under the barrel) all appear to be blued. They should be case colored.

So, if it is a refinish and everything else is good, (function, no wobble in the hinge, good lock-up, etc.) I would expect to see it being offered for a couple hundred, give or take.

Dosgatos · #5 02-24-2010, 01:48 AM

I bought #49225 with a wobbly hinge, original grips, and most of the finish gone for $200. Maybe I paid too much, but it does date from 1870!

deadin · #6 02-24-2010, 10:24 AM

Quote:

I bought #49225 with a wobbly hinge, original grips, and most of the finish gone

What a difference just 8 later can make.

Here's # 49233....................

gunlovingirl · #7 02-24-2010, 10:47 AM

I agree with Dean. The finish looks too "modern" and buffed, and the hammer doesn't appear to be case colored. Still a nice piece of history though!
Dean, what can you tell me about yours? It's a beauty!

deadin · #8 02-24-2010, 12:20 PM

Misty,
I kind of fell into it by accident. I was dealing with a minister of a local small church on an Ohio Halfstock Percussion rifle and when I was about to leave he asked if I was interested in pistols. Of course I said yes. He drug out what you can see in the first picture below. The story was that it was a family gun that had belonged to a Great Uncle of some sort that had been a cop in Mckeesport, PA before the Civil War. There was even a not written by Great Grandma to this effect.
Anyway, I was (and still am) pretty ignorant when it comes to engraved guns, but this one looked “GOOD”. I told him that a lot of the value would depend on who by and when it was engraved and I was no expert on engraving. He then asked what it would be worth without the engraving. He must have been anxious to sell because we reached a figure that I’m ashamed to admit to now. (It wasn’t a whole lot more then what Dosgatos paid for his.) I agreed that if it turned out to be worth a lot more I would pay him more.
I lettered it and it was shipped to M.W. Robinson as a plain nickel gun with wood grips, so the work was done there. (Not uncommon for NY engraved guns. Robinson would job things out to keep some “fancy guns” in stock in case someone wanted one.)
One of our advanced dealer/collectors examined the gun at the Salt Lake Annual meeting and said that as far as he was concerned, the gun came from the Nimschke shop in NY and he was sure that Nimschke himself did, at least, the frame. The barrel and cylinder were probably done by one of his apprentices. (Also not an uncommon combination.) His card is now in the case with the gun and my wife has instructions to contact him if something should happen to me.
As for the guns history, we tracked the family names back and it turns out that there was a cop from Mckeesport in the family but he died in the Civil War, so it couldn’t have been his. However we did find a direct ancestor that was running a Mercantile about the time the gun was sold, so I imagine it came from there. Whether it was one he ordered for himself or one he ordered for someone else that didn’t get picked up, who knows.
Finally, when I tried to get back in touch with the guy I bought it from (I felt I owed him just a bit more money) I couldn’t find him. It seems he left town under a cloud and didn’t leave a forwarding address. Something to do with church funds………………..
Here are the pictures of my first sight of the gun and a close-up of some of the detail on the frame.
(The holster looks like it was made from an old boot top.)