In Norway the law requires the gun to be produced before 1890 to be defined as antique. Do anyone know the last serialnumber for .38 DA 3rd model in 1889? - should be below 250000

Welcome to the Forum. There is a Smith & Wesson Collectors Association database for all models of guns and looking through the 38 Double Action list, there is a gap between 230,XXX and 255,XXX serial number range. 230,XXX shipped in November 1889 and 255,XXX shipped in May, 1890.

Problem is that the company kept records mostly by ship dates and not manufacture dates, so those dates may or may not work with your government. To complicate matters, the company did not ship revolvers out in serial number order. The less popular the model the less accurate the serial number order. The 38 DA in the 1880s was a very popular model, and appears to have gone out as manufactured and in good ship date order.

We have a member who has access to a few antique models factory log books, which might allow you to obtain manufacture dates and he will hopefully reply to your thread.

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Gary
SWCA 2515

.38DA production at end of 1889 was at serial number 248,000. Ed.

But all third model .38 DAs produced, both those made before and after 1/1/1890, are identical. Whether Norwegian law recognizes that I have no idea. In the USA, BATFE's Antique gun criteria depends upon only the manufacturing date (pre-1899 or post-1898) regardless of anything else.

This is true however one must remember that since S&W uses the shipping date, the ATF has generally accepted that date as the determining factor since the gun had to have been made before it was shipped. The shipping date would always be later.

I know that Roy Jinks corresponded with the ATF regarding some models whose frames had all been MADE before the antique/modern deadline even though many of those guns shipped way after the deadline. The ATF agreed that since the frames were all manufactured prior to the cut off date then they would all be considered antiques.

I am not up to speed on the antiques having just begun my education in that area however, there are those that can identify those models for you.

I am reasonably sure that if you email Roy Jinks with your serial number, he can give you the details about your gun and perhaps qualify whether it was made before 1890.

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James Redfield
LM #497