What’s the best way of dating an old S&W revolver?
I have a .38 S&W. On the left side of the barrel it appears to read “GB S&W Special”
“U.S. Service CTG’s”

On the right side it reads “Smith & Wesson Springfield Mass USA
PAT’D Apr 19 89, March 27 94, May 02 95, July 26 96,Aug 04 96, Dec 22 96, Oct 4 98, Oct 8 91, Dec 17 01”

The serial starts with 55xxx

There’s no screw in the trigger guard.

It's a 38 special Military and Police I guess from the 20"s, someone will come along soon and give a more accurate date.

Welcome to the Forum. You have a 38 Military & Police, Model 1902, 1st Change revolver that most likely shipped in 1905. The caliber is 38 Special, not 38 S&W and the barrel reads "38 S&W Special".

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Gary
SWCA 2515

That one is a 38 Military and Police of 1902 1st change made 1903-1904 with a serial number range of 33804-62449 with 28,645 manufactured per SCSW

Gary is faster on the trigger than I.

You have a 1902 model 38 M&P, 1st change. Made in 1903-4. The trigger guard screw was added in 1905.

John

I'd say with that SN it probably shipped in 1905.
“GB S&W Special”
“U.S. Service CTG’s”
It's 38 S&W Special. The U.S. Service Cartridge refers to the .38 Long Colt, which at that time was indeed the U. S. military's standard revolver cartridge. It is a little shorter and a little less powerful than the .38 Special cartridge, but it can be used in any revolver chambered for .38 Special. The U.S. Service CTG's barrel stamping was eliminated around 1907-08 in the low 1xxxxx SN range. The .38 Long Colt cartridge is essentially obsolete today. It was still in use by the military, but to a minor extent, until the early 1920s.

Thank you for the fast responses! Is the value enough that I should list it on my home owners insurance? I know condition is everything

Normally I send them flowers first.


Just kidding, welcome to the forum. I couldn't resist....

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James Redfield
LM #497

These 4" 1902 1st changes are relatively scarce guns, primarily because there were not huge numbers of them made, and also because not all that many survived these past 110 years or so. An important component of the pricing is the condition of the gun, meaning the percentage of original finish remaining, among other things.

I can't tell, from the pictures, how much finish remains, nor can I tell much about the surface condition of the piece. Ie, scratches, dings, pits, etc. Just from what I see in the pictures, I'd guess this gun would sell for $400 to $500, plus/minus $100.

Mike Priwer

That's up to you, but in that condition, I probably wouldn't bother were it mine.

I'm with DWalt on the insurance .Nice gun though .

Eddie

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Grumpy Old Man With a Gun

The double caliber stamping really had two purposes. First, S&W had not given up hope that it could sell the military on the hand ejector as a replacement for the Colt .38. Second, besides being the military cartridge, the .38 LC was a fairly common round in the US, as Colt had produced civilian versions of the military revolvers, the so-called New Navy and New Army models, for the commercial market, that were quite successful. (Attached picture is from the 1897 Sears catalog).

So emphasizing prominently that the S&W hand ejector could fire both cartridges was a good marketing move. Colt felt so threatened that for a time they published ads claiming their revolvers could handle the new .38 Special. Those fit, since the Colts had bored-through chambers, but it's NOT recommended practice.

Attached Images

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Welcome to the forum.

You have a nice old war horse with tons of history we'll never know.

As you discovered, accurate reading of old gun roll marks and serial #s or even existence of them, especially on pencil numbered stocks, requires magnification, bright light, cleaning, to provide correct information about the gun.

Th best way to date all S&W firearms is from a good book; the Standard Catalog of S&W, 4th edition being one of the best, and on Amazon.

For an exact shipping date and authenticity letter, one can be obtained from the S&W Historian for $75.

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Jim
S&WCA #819

In addition to Colt's DA military revolvers, some models of their earlier single action revolvers were also available chambered for the .38 LC. But those are somewhat rare. Colt single actions chambered in uncommon calibers (i.e., other than .45 Colt, .44-40, .38-40, and .32-20) are a collection specialty all by themselves.

Nice looking revolver. A piece of history for sure.

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Mike
S&WCA #3065