The LPS has a 38 Special CTG with SN on the butt 620915. It says Patented Feb 6 06, Sept 14 09, Dec 29 14 on the top of the barrel. When the cylinder is out (i guess that is the yoke) it says 41430. The SN matches the SN on the under side of the barrel. I have been looking around to see if i can date this but have not had much success. How old is it and is it worth picking up?

EDIT: So looking in older Blue Boook of Gun Values I see the .38 Military and Police (Model of 1905 - 4th Change) had sn range of 241704 to ~ 1 million. Is that accurate?

I think I might have the same model. 5 screw, square walnut grips, sn#590581. Where can one find info on when the gun was made or shipped?

A .38 M & P with the number 620915 on the bottom of the grip frame probably shipped in about 1930. The other number is a factory internal code that has no official meaning except a factory assembled gun will have this same number stamped in several places.

The Blue Book is correct. Many of the later guns in the first million were military contract guns to the British and US. The next 800,000 guns in the series were the Victory Models, which are mechanically 4th change guns until late in this run when a new hammer block was installed.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

Welcome! Yours is probably not too much before the other .38 M & P mentioned, probably late 1920s. At that time all S & W guns were made in Springfield, MA. You can get a specific shipping date and destination by requesting a factory letter:

Firearm History Request - Smith & Wesson

Hope this is helpful.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

A .38 Model of 1905 with serial number 5315xx letters to February, 1926. So, do the math. Chances are good yours shipped sometime in the second half of the 1920s. But, since S&W did not ship in serial order, you cannot be sure without a factory letter.

As for the OP's #620915, the same thing applies. This one is a bit later, but one side or the other of 1930 would be a good guess. If you must know with greater certainty, request a letter.

Jack

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Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318

Thanks Alan. The LPS hasw a tag price of 399.99. Obviously high. What is a fair price? It appears the Smith and Wesson stamping is a bit faded. Also blueing missing some for the tip of the barrel. Lockup is tight maybe a little too tight. Also there is what appears to be loss of blue - kinda graying color in front of the cylinder.

Edit: I am thinking of offering at most a $100.

Hi Alan! We seem to be looking at the same stuff at the same time a lot lately. Happened last night, too.
I hope your New Year holidays were nice.
Jack

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Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318

Thank you both for your help! This was my grandfathers gun he was a police officer after WWI so the time line is about right.

Is there a web site that has the sn# info?

Not that I'm aware of. However, there are a couple recent posts on this Forum that include serial lists. Maybe you can do a search and find them.
Jack

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Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318

In my neck of the woods a 1905 4 th change is worth around $275 to $300.
Howard.

Its a $250 to $300 gun. It probably shipped in the 1931 - 1932 time frame.

Mike Priwer

It's very difficult to assess an M&P value without a series of good pictures. One in excellent condition with original grips is easily worth $400-500, possibly more. I would agree the DOB is in the early 1930s. The 41430 number is just an assembly number and means nothing.

Another milepost you can use to speculate on ship dates is that the K-22 Outdoorsman was introduced in 1931 in the low 632000's. All .22, .32 S&W Long and .38 caliber K frames of that era were in the same serial range. The .32-20 M&P's had their own separate serial range.

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S&W Forum Member #721