A New Model No. 3 Revenue Cutter Service with letter walked into the Orange County show this weekend.
60% Blue 6" BBL Ser. # 23895.
Shipped: June 27, 1890
United States Government
Revenue Cutter Service

These are out of my realm. I don't know if this one is in the data base because I can't find the data base on these #3s.
Can anybody make a guess as to how many are left? I think they started with 140.
DBWesson

Larry, I think Charlie Pate has a personal data base on these guns. My guess is that probably 2 doz. of these are known to collectors. The only way you find out is by lettering them, as there are no marks or stampings on them to indicate the Rev. Cutter service. I have a list of all the serial numbers shipped & dates. There's approx. 140-150 guns on the list. Many years ago Roy Jinks ran across a shipping record on about 1/2 doz. of these guns. The entry said " Rev. Jones, etc. " giving the name of each cutter that the guns we sent to. Roy was puzzled by the entry and wrote a short note to some of us and a blurb in the S&WCA News Letter about a shipping record entry of 1/2 doz. NM#3s that apparently went to a bunch of well armed preachers! Loren Mitchell, our resident expert on NM#3s at the time, eventually dug out the info. that the guns went to the Revenue cutters. Ed

I realize that this is a late but I would like to correct one statement. The U. S. Life Saving Service, was not the "father" of the U. S. Revenue Cutter Service.

The were separate and individual services under the Treasury Department. The USRCS was created by act of Congress in 1790. The USLSS was created in 1878. The USRCS was the first armed federal law enforcement agency in the nation.

I would also like to ask where I could obtain copies of Men at Arms "S & W Revolvers of the U. S. Revenue Cutter Service," Vol. 20, No. 4, July/August 1998.

Also, SWCA Vol. 28, No. 2. Roy Jinks, "More on the New Model #3 for the U. S. Coast Guard."

Bill, Welcome to the Forum. If you join the Smith & Wesson Collector's Association, I believe you can down load those issues from the S&WCA part of this Forum. Ed.