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S&W Hand Ejectors: 1896 to 1961 All 5-Screw & Vintage 4-Screw SWING-OUT Cylinder REVOLVERS, and the 35 Autos and 32 Autos


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Old 05-24-2014, 12:19 PM
fasted55 fasted55 is offline
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Question Please look up serial numbers for me

Hi,

This is my first post on this forum. I've been buying quite a few old S&W revolvers on Gunbroker.com. I have two that I'd like to confirm the age and caliber before I try and shoot them. Would someone please look up the serial numbers and confirm the model, age, and caliber for me?

M&P Model 10 1952 SN W13993 38 special
Victory Model 10 1942 SN V169910 (on butt) 38 S&W
17183 (on frame)

Thanks,
Ed
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Old 05-24-2014, 12:27 PM
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"I've been buying quite a few old S&W revolvers..."

That much investment and you haven't bought your own reference book?

That's not a correct serial for a Model 10. Check the butt.

All the V series guns were made 1942-45. If you need closer than that an expert will be along to narrow it down.
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Old 05-24-2014, 01:33 PM
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Hi Mr. Pig, :-)
The model 10 butt # is C210056. Thank you for correcting me.
I guess I will have to buy the reference book. You would think S&W would have a SN look-up like Colt provides on their web page.
Thanks,
Ed
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Old 05-24-2014, 02:17 PM
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Welcome! C210056 would have shipped in late 1951 to early '52, and is a .38 Special. The Victory Model in question may be a late 1942 to early '43 shipped gun. It should be stamped .38 S & W CTG (cartridge) or .38 S & W Special CTG on the right barrel; some of the .38 S & W revolvers were altered after the war to fire .38 Special.

S & W has always tracked by ship (sales) rather than production dates, but during both of these eras with these models they likely left the factory soon after production. A good reference is the Standard Catalog of S & W 3rd edition. Hope this is helpful.
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Old 05-24-2014, 03:33 PM
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Can't be a Model 10 from 1951/52 as model numbers weren't assigned until 1957. That would be a Military & Police Model. The classic S&W revolver.
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Old 05-24-2014, 05:37 PM
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Gentlemen,
Thank you for confirming the caliber. I will buy the reference manual for the future.
Regards,
Ed
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Old 05-24-2014, 08:20 PM
jw mathews jw mathews is offline
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Ed--

Welcome to the forum. The STANDARD CATALOG OF S&W by Krause publications is probably the best single reference book on S&Ws. The first ed came out in the 1990s and there have been two more since. I don't know if Krause has plans for a 4th, but S&W has introduced several new models since the 3rd ed.

If you have a serious interest in older S&Ws, the first major book on S&W, by McHenry & Roper, has a lot of company history as well as gun info. The book by Robert Neal & Roy Jinks covering S&Ws made from the 1850s to 1945 is excellent. Roy Jinks wrote his own history of S&W ca 1977 (Beinfield Publishing, iirc) that has been reprinted over 15 times. John Henwood of Pacifica CA wrote & published AMERICA'S RIGHT ARM (a history of the M&P) ca 2003 in a limited edition of 500 softcover copies, which has a lot of info on the postwar versions of the K-frame.

Fyi, the official serial number of any S&W revolver is the number stamped on the bottom of the butt. Prior to 1957 when model numbers began appearing on the revolvers, the serial number also appeared on the rear face of the cylinder and the bottom of the barrel just forward of the frame. All those numbers should match on an "original" piece. The last three digits of the s/n were written or stamped on the inside of one of the wood stocks till about that time also.

The number on the yoke (the swing-out part that holds the cylinder) should match the number on the yoke cut in the frame on an original piece. Those are internal numbers used by the factory to keep major parts together during assembly, and that same number should be stamped on the inside of the sideplate if the gun is entirely original.

Some (military and possibly police) service guns will be found with sideplates replaced, and occasionally guns will be found with cylinders (and even barrels) taken from other guns. (See the thread asking for identification of a gun began by "Robin38" currently on this same page.)

I hope the above may be helpful to you.

Last edited by jw mathews; 05-24-2014 at 08:31 PM.
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Old 05-25-2014, 05:16 PM
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Krause Publication only produced the 1st and 2nd editions of Nahas & Supica's SCSW. SCSW3 was published by Gun Digest Books, but not sure if there is any ownership ties between the two companies.

I think the best single source on identification of S&W guns before 1945 is Neal & Jinks Smith & Wesson 1857 - 1945. This book goes into great detail on each and every early S&W through the end of WWII, but contains no pricing information.

Supica and Nahas Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson, 3rd Edition is also a great resource, but there are a few errors to deal with, plus the last printing was 2006. This book does contain history and values of all S&Ws from the Lever Action Magazine Pistols up to guns being manufactured in 2006.
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Old 05-25-2014, 06:14 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jw mathews View Post
Ed-- The last three digits of the s/n were written or stamped on the inside of one of the wood stocks till about that time also.
jw,

S&W stocks are serial numberd on the backside of the right stock only and always use the entire serial # except not always the prefix letters. Colt marks their grips with the last 3 digits and on both grips.

Ed,

I always recommend the SCSW, 3rd as the 1st book to buy because it's the only one that has serial numbers by date listed.
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Old 05-26-2014, 07:21 PM
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Victory 1942 SN V169910 and C210056 38 special
Likely December 1942 and probably mid-1952 respectively. The C-series SNs are found dated all over the place at that time, and a factory letter would be needed if you really felt it was worth $50 to determine an exact shipping date.
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Old 05-27-2014, 02:13 PM
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For what it's worth - my 38 spl. S & W M & P 5" barrel has the serial number of C 1847XX. When I posted on here after I got it, I was told sometime in 1952. Which was fine with me as I was born in 1952!
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Old 05-27-2014, 07:29 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bedbugbilly View Post
For what it's worth - my 38 spl. S & W M & P 5" barrel has the serial number of C 1847XX. When I posted on here after I got it, I was told sometime in 1952. Which was fine with me as I was born in 1952!
It probably was. I show two SNs bracketing yours, both of which were shipped in mid-1952. But no guarantees, as I also show one with a lower SN that shipped in early 1953.
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Old 05-29-2014, 06:45 PM
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Hi Guys,
I hadn't checked in since the 24th and was surprised to see so many more replies. Thank you for all the excellent information and taking the time to inform a relative newby to the world of guns. It's only been about 18 months since my first purchase and I'm still on a steep learning curve. You meet the nicest people around guns.
Regards,
Ed
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