4" 1905? 5 screw 38 special

Chino Hills · #1 02-07-2017, 01:03 AM

Not really a Smith person. I've shot some but my dad carried Colt revolvers on the PD but they did eventually transition to the Model 39 and then 59. This however was a step-grandfather's when he was a retiree working as a security guard. No model number, 4" barrel, blue, fixed sights, holster wear, shields popped off the grips both sides (maybe a family issue there, don't know), not recently cleaned so bore looks OK but needs cleaning to be sure, some wear on the trigger on left side. Ser. no. matches on butt, cylinder and barrel 998721. A co-worker has expressed some interest in it so was wanting to get an i.d. on it, rough age, value guess, etc.

Absalom · #2 02-07-2017, 01:52 AM

Welcome to the forum.

You have a Military & Police model from spring 1942, shortly before the serial reached 999999 and the V prefix started the Victory series. It had a lanyard loop and was likely shipped to a police agency or such through the Defense Supplies Corporation.

The lighting is a bit odd, but the finish looks original. It would have originally had smooth walnut stocks; the pre-war (I think) magna stocks on it now are usually worth quite a bit more actually, but they appear to have seen some rough use.

It looks to be in good shape, definitely in the $300 to 400 range and probably could bring more if properly cleaned up and photographed.

DWalt · #3 02-07-2017, 03:02 AM

Even though the pre-war Magna stocks are well worn, many would like to have them. They can be restored and they do add some value. Is there a SN stamped on the back side of the right grip panel? It likely shipped around May 1942, possibly June. And at that time, it well could have been a DSC revolver. I'd agree with the previous $300-$400 price range if you wish to sell, mainly because of the stocks.

Chino Hills · #4 02-07-2017, 03:27 AM

Yeah, lighting was poor. Just a couple of quick shots under a kitchen ceiling lamp and auto iso moved up into the noisy range. It doesn't appear to have been refinished and it's locked back away so I'll check the grip panel tomorrow after work. I should be able to spif up the lighting some as well, this was mostly to get the basic details in. It doesn't look to have been a high polish deep blue. The guy at work is not a collector so any subtleties about grips, etc., is outside his range of interest. And $300-$400 is also likely more than he might be interested in. Better that the grips, etc., go to an appreciative new home.

Muley Gil · #5 02-07-2017, 08:51 AM

Welcome to the Forum.

I have to disagree about the finish. Looking at the left side, the end of the hammer pivot pin is almost polished flat and the side plate doesn't fit well. And I think the parkerized type finish was standard when this revolver was built.

At this point in time, the factory was calling this model the .38 Military & Police.

BibleronKJV · #6 02-07-2017, 09:06 AM

I have #975727 38 spcl 4 inch (probable DSC) in pristine condition and it has "parkerized" finish rather than the brush blue. Ron

BibleronKJV · #7 02-07-2017, 09:50 AM

Also have #938813 BSR which has the brush blue finish so the transition to "parkerizing" must have taken place between these two. Ron

Absalom · #8 02-07-2017, 10:41 AM

You guys are expecting too much of a "parkerized" look. No Victory I've ever come across had the completely dull classic "parkerized" finish unless it was FTR'd in Australia.

For comparison, below are 910507 (supposedly "brushed blue"? I actually think it's Black Magic), V 121432, and V 626880 (Midnight Black, the standard Victory finish). Taken in about the same lighting conditions (except the middle picture had an additional lamp on, thus the orange hue) All three are unequivocally original.

And by the way, with no disrespect at all intended to anyone, I do take finish descriptions in history letters with a grain of salt, especially on early (pre-)Victorys. I don't think the factory used consistent labels back then.

Chino Hills · #9 02-08-2017, 12:57 AM

No chance to take more pictures yet. There are no markings of any sort on the insides of the grip panels and one of the shouldered disks is missing. Not sure just how well finished/polished the flats on the sides are supposed to be. If you look closely at the left side, there is a crescent shaped ding, looking below that and towards the grip there is a bit of a kind of parallel sort of curved brushy look. It's more pronounced under good lighting, possible stroke marks on the right side, too. So it may have been refinished, again, not being a Smith afficianado, not sure and generally not a trained appraiser, either. It's clear that there is wear on the muzzle, etc., and it looks like there is one cylinder position that looks a bit more worn on both sides so it may have ridden in the same position in the holster. The bore looks good (my term) and neither it nor the cylinder look like it's been fire a lot to me. The high iso setting on the pics will give a softer look so I'll try to get better lighting, perhaps diffused sunlight for more pics. But probably not before the weekend. Thanks for the responses so far.