5 screw .38 special pre model 10 Serial number on butt and barrel match C 114907. When made/shipped?

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Probably made early in 1950, possibly late 1949. It could have shipped any time after it was assembled. 1950 would be a good bet, but only a letter from the SWHF can give you any certainty about when it left the factory.

Interesting that it has a swivel hole. These do show up on some early C prefix guns, but not all that often, in my experience.

__________________
Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318

C1130xx shipped in 9/50. That's the only one I have listed which is close to yours.

In addition to the swivel hole, it also has the four screw holes for a butt plate. These were usually made from brass to protect the bottom of the grips and, if you believe some folks, to make it more effective to hit people over the head.

So this was almost certainly a police service weapon.

Thank you for the help. I have another 5 screw M&P .38, serial number V 6953543. Lanyard post. Side plate stamped Converted by Cogswell & Harrison Ltd. London. When was this made and what is the story on the conversion?

serial number V 6953543 (you have an extra digit somewhere in there)

Serial number V 695354 is a British Service Revolver, Victory Model, which originally shipped in later 1944, probably October. After the British surplussed these out in the 1950s-1960s, many were converted to something more saleable to civilians and exported for sale on the American market. The C&H conversions were performed in England, and their workmanship was generally pretty good. Typically, the barrels were shortened from the original 5" length, they were refinished, checkered wood grips were added, and the chambers re-bored for .38 Special. Not worth very much, but yours could be a good shooter.

Yes, V 693543 is the correct number. This has a ramp front sight. My other revolver, above, has the half moon sight. When might the rebarrelling have been done?

Difficult to say. No earlier than the mid-1950s. There was probably no rebarreling, just mods made to the barrel originally on it (shortening it and adding a different front sight).

Correct on norebarrelling. Serial number on barrel is the same as on the square butt. Shortened barrel from 6" to 4"?

The gun would have originally looked like the one in the attached picture, which is V 604454 made a few months earlier.

C&H conversions can come in slightly different variations, but if yours is the standard one, it should have received, besides the new ramp front sight and frame inscription you already discussed, a new commercial blue finish and a new set of wooden stocks with fine checkering. It should also have London proof marks, usually on the right side of the barrel behind the original caliber stamping.

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That was a typo on DWalt's part. The original length on all of these was 5". C&H took them down to somewhere between 4" and 3.5".

Yep, hit the wrong key. Although some of the earliest BSRs did have 6" barrels, but not that late.