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S&W Hand Ejectors: 1896 to 1961 All 5-Screw & Vintage 4-Screw SWING-OUT Cylinder REVOLVERS, and the 35 Autos and 32 Autos


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Old 01-05-2013, 08:08 PM
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Default Interesting Pre 42 factory letter info

I picked up 2 nice pre model 42s last summer and just had them lettered SN 4457 & SN 4459. Also in pursuit of SN 4458 I gambled and had it lettered too in case it was shipped to same place here in cleveland. I knew it was a long shot but I have spent $50 on a lot more foolish things.



The results surprised me... I bought both guns within 10 days of each other here in NE Ohio so I really expected they would have shipped out on dates close to each other..and to same place. here are results:
  • 4457 Shipped Sept 1954 to Evaluators Inc, Quantico VA
  • 4458 (I don't own) Shipped July 1954 to Atlanta GA
  • 4459 shipped March 1955 to George Worthington Co, Cleveland OH.

What I learned.

1. These centennials were not very popular as the ship dates are months apart on consecutive S/Ns and in 20 years they only sold 30K.
2. Guns are NOT shipped out S/N sequence..4458 shipped 3 months before 4457. (I knew this but this was my first 1st hand experience)
3. 4457 that shipped to Evaluators Inc, Quantico Va... was this an FBI gun? (That is a question not an observation)
4. My chances of finding 4458 are slim to none

Here are the 2nd page of the 3 letters..Thanks Roy Jinks.

Pre 42 SN 4457


Pre 42 SN 4458


Pre 42 SN 4459


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Last edited by mbliss57; 01-05-2013 at 10:53 PM.
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Old 01-05-2013, 08:31 PM
10-shooter 10-shooter is offline
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interesting.... sure hope you find 58....
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Old 01-05-2013, 08:36 PM
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Mike,

Evaluators was a gun shop with lots of connections and influence to S&W. They did sell a lot of guns to law enforcement.
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Old 01-05-2013, 08:36 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mbliss57 View Post
3. 4457 that shipped to Evaluators Inc, Quantico Va... was this an FBI gun? (That is a question not an observation)
This company was a large S & W distributor. The daughter of the owner, a Flora van Orden, recently posted here looking for and offering information about her parents and their business. No way to tell where it went after its arrival in VA, and all their records were removed or destroyed years ago apparently.
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Old 01-05-2013, 08:48 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by murphydog View Post
This company was a large S & W distributor. The daughter of the owner, a Flora van Orden, recently posted here looking for and offering information about her parents and their business. No way to tell where it went after its arrival in VA, and all their records were removed or destroyed years ago apparently.
Thanks for that info. And yours 410.
Also George Worthington Co was a very large hardware distributor in Cleveland from mid 1800's until 1991. They supplied to over 1500 Sentry hardware stores in the 70's and 80's. The business was so successful in the 1920- 1930'a that they had their own script for their employees.
They moved 25 miles east to Mentor Ohio and had a 500,000 sq ft distribution warehouse on the same street where I currently work until they went out of business in 1991.
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Old 01-05-2013, 09:49 PM
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that is very interesting. i remember you posting when you got them. i would have probably went for the other letter, too! good luck in the search.
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Old 01-05-2013, 09:56 PM
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Those are both Beauties Mike. Regardless if you find the other
gun or not that is a fine pair.
Very interesting info on the ship dates as related to serial numbers.
A total **** shoot.

Chuck
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Old 01-05-2013, 10:00 PM
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Wow, one actually shipped 400 years before the others. Amazing!

Mike
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Old 01-06-2013, 12:55 AM
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I've followed a few steel Centennials numbers and found them all over the map. My 3 digit gun shipped in July 1953 at about a year later than my assumption...
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Old 08-10-2018, 09:29 AM
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Very cool especially that one to Evaluator in Quntico !
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Old 08-10-2018, 11:46 AM
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This was not suppose to repost...it was meant as a PM. Its from 2013. Although I am still looking for 4458!
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