Mhttps://goo.gl/photos/F219qG62dgLp9akP6[/IMG]Hi all. From what I have found I believe this is a 32 top break. It is in great shape and belongs to a relative that may be interested in selling it if it is worth a decent amount of money or trade for a new gun. Is there any significance of the serial number being 41xxx? Any idea on approximate date? From what I found is the mid 1890's a probable date of manufacture? Any idea on value? I guess there were quite a number of these made so they are not worth a lot. The lockup is good and chamber rotates and hammer appears to work as it should when you pull the trigger. Is the hammer supposed to lock back? It does not. Is it worth getting the letter from the s&w guys. Sorry for all the questions but it is exciting to learn this gun was made in the 1800's. Thought the wording on top of barrel was 1980s and found it was referring to 1880s. It has been in a case for years. I was going to clean it but didn't want to screw up the finish. Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge. Best regards. Tom

S&W 32 Top Break - Google Photos

Yours is a .32 Double Action, Third Model, probably from 1883. It uses the .32 S&W (NOT .32 S&W Long) cartridge. Even modern .32 S&W cartridges loaded with smokeless powder will be safe. They are lightly loaded. Not too difficult to find, as they are still manufactured. It is of only modest value. LOTS of them are around.

Welcome to the Forum. That may well be the earliest 4th Model I have ever seen. The documented serial number range for the 3rd Model was 22,173 to 43,405, in which your serial number falls, but the trigger design is definitely a 4th Model, as is the trigger guard. The bible of the S&W collector's world is the Neal & Jinks book. Roy Jinks, S&W historian, provided much of the change date documentation, and would alert the reader if there was a significant amount of transition revolvers, but made no note for this one. It appears the factory records may have had errors.

Anyway, interesting gun with a finish that looks quite dull, maybe some aggressive cleaning during it's life? Value is low for the 32 DA, due to a combination of the facts that there were over 300,000 made and they were chambered in a relatively unpopular caliber.

Added a photo of a 2nd Model that shows the trigger and trigger guard that was standard for the 1st through 3rd Model. The 4th model like yours shows the change in cylinder design that carried on through the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Models.

Attached Images

P6210001.jpg (111.8 KB, 40 views)

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Gary
SWCA 2515

If you mean the hammer cannot be cocked for single action fire then it is broken. Dollar value is not high. For all their popularity at the time, these are not real strong guns.

It looks pretty good to me, cleaning it with an oily cloth and toothbrush will not "harm the finish."

Welcome to the forums from the Wiregrass, Tom! It is possible that the non-functioning single action is due to residue in the action which prevents the sear from engaging the hammer. Get some aerosol brake/carb/parts cleaner and spray it through the hammer and trigger openings until it runs clear. Then, put 5 drops of gun oil into the action through either the hammer or trigger openings. If that doesn't fix it, it may need some gunsmithing to restore the single action.

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Guy
SWHF #474 SWCA LM#2629

Nice little gun and even a nicer box. These little guns are quite delicate so be careful removing screws and pins. Just remove the grips and spray as quoted above. Best

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Mike 2796
SoFo Bunch member

Just so you know...

Neat old gun, but little value as these are fairly common. Also, yours was renickeled some time ago, as the barrel latch, trigger, hammer, and trigger guard would not have originally been nickeled.

Also, markings on the barrel are not as crisp as they would have been originally prior to renickel.

Neither the .32 DA nor the similar .38 DA revolvers have any significant collector interest unless they are in original and exceptional cosmetic condition and with the original box. There are just too many of them in circulation, with most of them having spent much of their lives as "house guns" in someone's nightstand drawer where they never experienced much use or abuse. So finding one in merely good condition is easy. Those in .32 S&W are even less desirable than .38s, as they aren't even of as much utility as shooters due to their puny caliber. The one pictured likely wouldn't be worth much over $100 if he tried to sell it, even less if it is not in 100% shootable condition which seems to be the case. If repaqir is necessary, most gunsmiths will not touch them, and it's not really worth the cost of repair even if someone could be found to work on it.