S&W dating is normally from ship dates not manufacturing dates. The determination of antiques vs "modern" was also determined by ship dates.
Any Model 2 with a serial number below 40,000 were considered as being shipped early enough to have been possibly purchased by Union soldiers for use in the Civil War. That means that a Model 2 below that serial number would have likely left the factory very early in 1865.
Since your revolver has a serial number slightly above 40,000, it would likely have still been shipped in 1865, but would have gotten to the buyer or distributor after April of that year.
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Gary
SWCA 2515
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