Quote:
In the USA, BATFE's Antique gun criteria depends upon only the manufacturing date (pre-1899 or post-1898) regardless of anything else.
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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.