I have a pre Model 14, .38 Special with a 4" barrel. The serial number is a "K" with a 1/2" space and then a 5 point star before the rest of the serial numbers of 1204XX.
It is finished in what appears to be Duracoat, I read about the "Black Magic" finish being put on wartime guns. Is it possible that this is a finish like that?? It appears that the gun was made about 1952'ish.
It has diamond wooden grips and a S&W logo grip adapter on it with a .500 hammer but a standard grooved trigger. It has a pinned barrel but not a recessed cylinder with the adjustable rear site.
Any help with identifying this gun will be appreciated along with any value estimates.
Thanks in advance

Hi

First, with a 4" barrel it wouldn't be a "pre Model 14." It would be a .38 Combat Masterpiece (AKA pre-Model 15).

K1204xx falls into the range of revolvers made in 1951, so it could have shipped in '52.

The star on the butt probably means a trip back to the Service Department. If you remove the stocks and look on the left side of the grip frame you might see a three or four digit date code. That would confirm its SD appearance and tell you the "when."

I seriously doubt the finish you describe is factory work. Pics might tell the story better.

The S&W grip adapter is a nice add-on. Most adapters we see from this era are Mershon.

No .38 Special revolvers had counter-bored charge holes. Those were exclusively used on guns designed to shoot magnum cartridges in the centerfire line. Rimfires had them too, from the mid-1930s on.

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Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318

Yes, there is a number on the left side of the frame, it appears to be either 1 1 52 or 7 7 52, the 52 is for sure and the other numbers could be 1's or 7's.
I can send some pics to you by email to you, the Duracoat is my first thought on the finish but the job appears so good I was hopeful it might have been something else.
Other than the refinish job lowering the value, any guesses with or without pics, on the value??
Thanks in advance-Robert

Probably 1152, which is November, 1952. Since there is no 77th month of the year, November is a pretty good bet!

Weird that it went back that soon after it left the factory, but who knows why? There is probably an answer buried in the Historical Foundation records, if you wanted to spend the money to find out.

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Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318

Thank you for the help with this, I am a recently retired police officer and really like the early police guns, I carried a S&W Model 66, 4" when I first went on the job in 1981, I have it in my collection now.

My guess is yours probably shipped around 10/51 based upon other SNs on my list. That would make it a pre-Model 15 Combat Masterpiece. At that time, the finish was not a glossy bright blue, but more of a duller matte blue - but definitely blued. A bright blued finish was available at extra cost. Seems like yours may have been given some other finish outside the factory. Something was done to it in 11/52 at the factory, but no good way to know what it was. These in original average condition will usually sell in the roughly $500 price range. Without the original finish, somewhat less.

Thank you for the information!

I show a K1247xx shipping 11/51 but it was a K22 Combat Masterpiece.

My closest K38 Combat Masterpiece to yours is K127435 which shipped 11/51.

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Mike
S&WCA #3065

The key distinction between a model (or pre-model) 14 and 15 is the barrel profile . . . 14s are heavy barrel and 15s are tapered barrel. We'd need to know more about yours to comment further.

Admittedly, a 1951/52 serial number of K1204xx is pretty early for a 4" Combat Masterpiece with the typical model 14 heavy barrel profile . . . but there are know "pre-model" examples.

Here is a previous thread that discusses some well-documented examples as early as 1955:
Model 14 with 4-inch barrel

Sierra138 . . . please post pictures of yours and perhaps we can help further.

Russ

You have been super helpful, I am trying to figure out how to post pictures-when I do, I will.
Thanks again!