i have a small problem im hopeing someone can help me with. my brother and i were left a small pistol by our uncle and need to sell it but i cant really find out much about it other than it was supposed to be made in 1857 to 1860. it is a small pistol that holds 7, .22 cal. short rimfire, it is a "tip up". silver/nickel plated from tip of barrel back and is very shiny.. there is no writing along top of barrel or patent on cylender i guess because of the silver plate?. the serial number is 3354 on bottom of handle and matches the one inside handle along with 8 C stamped in three places (barrel, cylender face and frame). the pistol is very tight, functions, and looks almost as new as the day it was bought with only a few small places the brass is showing through one streak on left and mostly around circle door. really the only detraction from the whole piece is that the ejector rod is gone from under the barrel, the screw for it is still there.
the rifling inside the barrel is 3 groove left handed. the gun has been in a safe for at least 70 years that i know of. what im wondering is if it is really a S&W since it is completley silvered and not blued with the stamps on it? and if it is does it make it one of the few that were produced this way? and how much it would be appx. worth. i am hopeing for the best.. and from all the posts i read and pics i have looked at this is the right place to ask a knowledgible person. thanks in advance, BC

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Im sorry that you feel you need to sell this item that seems to have been in your family for at least 70 years. Being that it is good working condition, I would think you might want to keep this piece of family history. My friend and I were just yesterday discussing the anger that we have with some of our family members selling off our family history with out even asking the FAMILY first. There are many things that I would have paid for to keep. For example, I am very disapointed that my great grand fathers WW I colt 45 1911 was sold off. Breaks my heart to this very day. I encourage you to research the history of your collectors piece and how it relates to your family. You may find out that you want to preserve this piece and keep it. Sorry I hopped on my soap box, and cant help you with the value of you S&W. I just hope you will consider this in our decision making.

Mike, i appreciate your concern in the fact of it possibly being a family heirloom. from everything we can find out though it is just "a gun" in the family. we do have items like my fathers 357 chrome plated colt python he carried as a police service weapon, great grandfathers octagon barrel .22 gallery rifle, grandmas double barrel shotgun. a few gold pieces and a bunch of antique toys and comics..thanks to the same uncle. these few items that do have meaning are being kept but there are some things that must be sold to take care of expenses he left. at least we got what he meant for us to have and are able to make a decision on what to be able to keep instead of the govornment taking it all like they were going to do and us losing it all. its not always black and white in these matters and i do understand your concern.

Where are you located? If you figure out what you want for it(reasonably)I may be interested. Kyle

BC, if the gun is a S&W and not a copy, and ihas it's original finish, then it is silver plated, except for the hammer & trigger. Post better photos, if possible, especially of the top of the barrel rib & the butt. The markings you say are there are correct for a S&W, Model 1, 4th issue, except for the lack of the patent stampings on the cylinder and the company name & address on the barrel rib. It would take extensive buffing & refinishings to remove those stampings, and from what I can see( not much, due to out of focus pics) the gun does not show other evidence of refinishing. Original or refinished silver plating would not cover up those stampings. The serial number should appear on two places on a genuine S&W = (1) on the butt, and (2) on the back of the right grip panel, if the grips are original to the gun. You say the serial number is stamped " inside handle" also? That's not usual for a genuine S&W, so there's a possibility that your gun is one of the copies made by other makers to fool the public into thinking the gun was a S&W. The missing extractor rod can be replaced, of course, by obtaining the part from an parts dealer in antique S&W parts, or making a new one from a large nail and plating it. Better close up, in focus, pics of all parts and grip frame, needed to establish what you may have. Good luck, Ed #15

BC, again sorry for my soap box rent! I should have known someone who has the desire to be on a forum like this would have taken all that into consideration. I guess I was just a little tweeked about my great grandfathers colt from the previous day convorsation with my buddy. Glad to hear about your other heirlooms. Good luck with the info you seek, I hope it does turn out to be original S&W.

P.S. If you decide to sell that python, let me know!..........(just jokes!)