I have a 1905 4th change 38 special with a serial number of 473XXX*. The asterik is actually a five pointed star. My best guess is it was made around 1924. It came with the original grips.

Does the star after the serial number mean anything? It seems that I've read that it could mean the gun was reblued by the factory, etc.

My brother thinks it may have been reblued. To me, it looks like a few areas like the extractor rod may have been touched up. If it was reblued, somebody did a really nice job.

Attached is a ****** pic. I need to take a better one.

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Looks like a nice M&P Target Model .

I believe it is. My brother is the serious collector. He said I did alright on the gun because of it being a target version.

A star on the butt often means a refinish at the factory. If done "back in the day" a factory refinish is nearly impossible to differentiate from original blue.

That would make sense. It seems too nice to be original for a 1924 gun, but the bluing is really well done.

There probably isn't any way to know when it was reblued, right?

Thanks for the reply.

Take off your grips and you will find 3 numbers stamped on the grip frame. Something like 6 47, which means the gun was worked on at the factory in June 1947.

There is a stamp that shows 1.47. I guess it was worked on in January of 1947?

Does that add or detract from the value of the gun?

Thanks for the info!

From a collector's standpoint, original factory finish is always to be preferred. But, being that this one was evidently redone at the factory, I'd judge that the value would not be too impaired, certainly nowhere so much as if the work had been done by just anyone.

__________________
SWCA #590
"Colligo ergo sum"

That's good to know. Thanks for the information.

I paid $510 for it, so I don't think I did too badly. Other than the possible re-blue, it's in really nice condition.

The star on the butt is suppossed to mean that the gun went back to
the factory, for some kind of service. It doesn't necessarily mean a
refinish, but it might well have been refinished at that time.

1947 is right after WW2, and the factory was very busy getting
production back up again. Typically, for a refinish, you would find
something like [R-B], or perhaps <R>, on the grip strap - usually the
right side. You might find a similar mark on the underside of the
barrel. Because of the year, its possible that those marks were not
stamped.

We'd be interested in knowing what kinds of marks you find stamped
on the grip strap. There are some fitters marks, stamped in small
font, around the stock pin; those are not relevant.

Mike Priwer

You stole it at that price . I have one not as nice probably 95% or so non original grips & I paid more than you did . Very nice looking gun & a sweet deal to boot . I've attached pics of mine so you can feel even better about yours .

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There aren't any marks on the right hand side of the grip strap other than a couple of characters by the pin as you mentioned, Mike.

On the left side, there is the 1.47 in the lower left corner, a diamond in the lower right corner, and the number 97 near the top of the grip strap.

These pics suck and they're upside down. Sorry.

Nice looking gun!

About all that can be said, with certainty, is that it went back to the
service department in Jan 1947, for something. As to what was done,
I don't know.

Mike Priwer

Do you know if S&W would have a record of what was done?

I'm sure that whatever was done quadrupled the value.

Old wisdom was that any gun factory refinished is of more value than a gunsmith refinished gun. I recall that Jim Supica places modern refinished guns with at least 98% finish into the Very Good category and antiques in the same category at 85% condition. He also states that factory refinishes are valued somewhere between original finish and non-factory finishes of similar condition.

It looks like the left edge of the S&W logo is missing on your revolver, indicating a refinish.

As for the diamond - the rule here is that refinished guns have this and a B or N or S. The diamond without any letters indicate replacement of a major part. This letter designation might be found on the rear of the cylinder or even behind the star ejector, but these rules are made to be broken.

Mike, I had always understood the star mark to indicate a "rework", but I take it then that it's a misconception that this necessarily includes refinishing? Would that mark have been applied even in the case of a minor repair? Has the mark (and the date code stamped underneath the stocks) ever been observed above the existing finish?

Inquiring minds want to know....

__________________
SWCA #590
"Colligo ergo sum"

Under the star ejector, there is a diamond and I believe the letter B. Any idea what this means?

I just received my new Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson book. Near as I can tell, the diamond and B symbol likely indicates a factory re-blue (N would indicate nickel). The star after the serial number could indicate factory replacement of a major component. It could be that a component was replaced by the factory and the gun was re-blued.

I have no idea what this means for the value of this gun, but as mentioned, factory re-work doesn't seem to hurt the value as much as work done by a local shop.

For the shape it's in & what you paid for it I wouldn't worry about it's value . You could shoot it for the next 20yrs with target loads ( lead bullets only ) & probably turn around & sell it for more than what you have in it . The sight adjustments are by guess & by golly ( good thread in the sticky : Notable Threads in this section ) . If it shoots like mine you'll love it . BTW mine really likes 3.2gr W 231 with a 148gr HBWC . Enjoy your gun .

From the examples of star marked S&W's I've examined over the years, my impression is that they all have been refinished. I believe the star denotes really substantial work having been done, along the lines of refurbishment, or as you suggest, replacement of a major component, as opposed to merely minor repair, and that this typically included fresh bluing (or nickeling, I suppose).

That said, I'd have to concede the possibility that a star marked gun could quite easily have been refinished outside the factory at a later time, and unless that work was done poorly, there'd be no way to tell.

__________________
SWCA #590
"Colligo ergo sum"

Thanks for the responses. I missed the last two replies (you really gotta stay on top of this website!).

Would S&W have a record of what was done to this gun? If they did, I guess it would cost $50 to find out? I'd probably spend the money on ammo.

I am no expert but it looks reblued to me. I also noticed the logo appears to have been buffed a bit. This is still a rare and very cool gun and you did not pay too much if you like it.

Yeah, I like it. I think I did o.k. on the price because it is a target model. Who knows.

My brother has hundreds of guns, but he says he stays away from the old ones on GB because you can't always tell what you are getting. But, around here, you don't find much good stuff at the local shops. Cabela's is 2 hours away and they are almost always too high on price.