Hello, Was wondering if anyone could help me out on this 38 special. It was given to me by my father and pretty much uneducated about pistols. The seraial number? on butt of stock is 250652.

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You have it in the wrong place. That is a hand ejector model of some sort and needs to go in that thread. The gun appears to be collector grade and depending on exactly what it is the value will likely surprise you.
You now own a great piece of Smith and Wesson history.

Just to clarify, that gun would have been around for some time before 1961.

The gun is a Military & Police Model of 1905, an early 4th change from 1915/16 (that change started in 1915 at about 241,000).

Moderators will move the thread to the correct subforum.

A few more detailed pictures or closeups of any numbered areas would help. It appears to be an M&P model that may be of around 1915-1917 vintage. That is if the serial number is not preceeded by a letter such as an "S" or so forth. A very nice and clean example,treat it well.

Only numbers i see are in a couple of these pictures.

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Yes, you have a very nice Model of 1905 Change 3. 6" barrel by the look of it. Grips are from that era and may be the original. You will find it to be a very good shooter.

Mine is s/n 216xxx and shipped in 1914.



s/n 259176 shipped in 4/17

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Mike
S&WCA #3065

One more that I missed.

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The artificial light and shadow contrasts are not ideal for a definite judgment, but it looks indeed all-original and in very nice shape. The stocks are period-correct also; you might want to check the back of the right grip panel for a matching serial number, although these were penciled during that era and can be hard to discern.

What would the current value of this gun be. I understand your only going by what u see in pictures..It seems for the year to be in really good shape with normal wear

My guess would be around $500-$650 at the highest, based on the condition. That is just a guess, though. Bear in mind that the M&P is the Volkswagen Beetle of S&W revolvers- not exactly rare.

250652 probably shipped around early 1916. I list 2504xx as shipping in 3/1916.

True enough. But one from that era in that condition would be quite desirable to collectors. The stocks appear to be stunningly nice and the blue appears to be nearly all intact.

BTW it is an early Fourth Change Model of 1905. Both the serial number and the December 29, 1914, patent date confirm this. It may have shipped before the government took over the S&W factory in 1917.

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Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318

I think $400 is about right. I personally wouldn't pay $500 for this example.

S&W .38s are undervalued right now IMO. I have a nice M&P made just after yours that I paid $500 for, but it's in better shape and has the somewhat less common round butt/5" barrel combo.



The value is in the history, usually family history e.g. grandpa's gun or someone in the family who was a police officer. That's what makes these M&Ps really special and also why they sit in pawn shops for years with $599 price tags on them; no one cares about the previous owner, it's a six shot .38 with fixed sights, and not a great concealed carry gun.

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Psalm 27:2

That is a very nice example what I would call in uncommonly good good condition. Most of these are well worn as to price if my dad had gave that to me it would be priceless to me.

Thanks for all the help on this guys. I have no plans to sell it and will hand it down to either my son or daughter. Also being over 100 years old is something special IMO.

You’ll notice that‘s what I said before our friend Mike mis-corrected me ....

Although you have been around for a few months, I will still say welcome to the forum.

The .38 M&P is one of the backbone firearms of the S&W line with over 7,000,000 made to date. They have been carried at one time or another by almost every police agency or army on the planet.

Having one handed down through the family is considered quite a prize here on the forum as 7,000,000 might be out there but only one came down through your family.

If you are not familiar with firearms, you may wish to have it checked out by a gunsmith to make sure it is functioning properly. After 100 years it could probably use a good cleaning and lubrication. You might also want to pick up a can of Renaissance Wax to preserve the finish from any further wear or damage. Fingerprints contain moisture, oils and salts and can be harmful to a guns finish A good coating of wax will create a barrier between the metal and handling.

Enjoy.

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James Redfield
LM #497

I noticed.

I was correcting him, not you. He's fine. I just think he didn't correctly bracket the serial sequence and perhaps he didn't notice the patent date. So I pointed both out.

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Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318

So true.

Back in the day, a little piece of paper came with S&W revolvers, as shown in the photo below. This particular example came with a .32 Hand Ejector Model of 1903 that left the factory in March, 1916.

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Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318