What is your opinion of this serial number?

[Göring's S&W]

A while back I got this revolver below. I posted about it with some other antiques I had bought at that time, and forum members pointed out that the cylinder appears to have been blued, which I didn't notice. Thanks for that guys!

Anyways, I would like to letter it even though it probably is NY engraved. The issue I am having is reading the serial number. I am pretty sure the first digit is an 8, but the other two digits, which are 3s or 8s are hard for me to decipher. I used my 30x loop, and talked myself into any of the below possibilities. The closer I looked with the loop, the more closely I felt the digits resembled.

Hoping to gather opinions on what the SN is from you all before I letter it.

There are basically 4 choices, assuming that the first digit is an 8:

83234
83284
88234
88284

I want unbiased answers, so I won't share which serial I am leaning towards...

Thank you!

The gun:




The butt

[opoefc]

If I wanted a letter, I would order 88284 first. ( Any numbers on the grips or cylinder, besides the assembly code ?) If a letter on 88284 didn't seem to match the gun's pinto finish, I might request additional letters, however the engraving is typical New York dealer type, so probably none of the serial numbers will show as engraved guns. Ed.

[ol777gunnerz]

It is 83234, that's why it was the first serial number you typed in. It should be noted I am looking at them on a 23 inch monitor, which helps a lot.

[Arik]

83234

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[TAC]

That's a tough call! My guess, 83234

[murphydog]

Agree, the second and fourth digits do not have the completely closed loop on the left waist, as does the leading "8", so 83234.

[Wiregrassguy]

83234. Also could the discolored cylinder and extractor rod be from gunpowder residue or heat or, maybe tarnish if the gun was silver plated?

[mmaher94087]

I'm not convinced on the pinto effect. Not to seem a nay-sayer, but I read (somewhere) that the heat treating of the cylinder caused the finish of the cylinders to either flake or turn brown. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find the reference.

[Göring's S&W]

Also could the discolored cylinder and extractor rod be from gunpowder residue or heat or, maybe tarnish if the gun was silver plated?

I'm not convinced on the pinto effect. Not to seem a nay-sayer, but I read (somewhere) that the heat treating of the cylinder caused the finish of the cylinders to either flake or turn brown.

While anything is possible, in reference to both of your theories, I would expect there to be at least a trace of nickel, if that were the case. The same can be said for silver. I cannot find a trace at all of either plate on the cylinder, even in protected areas. There is a good chance that the ejector rod was also blued, but I suppose we may never know, unless the factory letter clues us in. If the gun was engraved by a NY distributor, the letter will likely not yield anything about a two-tone finish. Regardless, I still plan on lettering the gun, hence this thread.

[Göring's S&W]

And, yes, I did think the SN was 83234 myself although I was not confident enough with what I was seeing. Believe nothing that you hear and only half of what you see, as the old saying goes

I think I will letter that SN and post the letter when I get it.

Thanks to all!

[merl67]

I agree with others 83234

[Göring's S&W]

I agree with others 93234

I assume you mean 83234* ?

[merl67]

LOL fat fingers

[H Richard]

I also agree on 83234.

[Targets Guy]

I am going with 88284

[kzaske]

I would go with 83234. You could use a low power laser (like a cat toy) to see if the 3s are really 8s but I seriously doubt it.

[gwpercle]

83234
The large screen monitor I'm looking at makes these numbers easy to read.... and the enlargement merle67 posted...No doubt .
83234....I would bet money on them !
Gary