6 M29s and 3 M28 from a S&W invoice.

__________________
NRA LIFE 1974

Oh my, 86 dollars on a 29 and 56 on a 28 somebody get a time machine !!

__________________
This is the way....

Fascinating invoice. Interesting that, among the six .44s (each a 6.5"), serial numbers ranged from 152610 to 179837, range of 7,227. Among the three .357s (each a 6") range is only 474 units. An inference might be drawn that the HPs were in far greater demand, and shipped as quickly as made?

Gathering also that these were wholesale prices, plus 10% excise tax. A small footnote. Though I don't have '57 or '58 gun Digest right at hand, GD 1960 shows 44 mag at $140 and HP at $85. The $ ratio of .44 to HP is ~1.6407. That is the same ratio for the $86.06/$52.25 pricing in invoice.

Thank you.

I invented one in my room when I was eight years old, and it worked!...I didn't realize it at the time, but it only worked in the forward position, and it was still switched on when my Mom threw it away...At first the years slowly went by, and now they're going by so fast everything is a blur...

Mom! How could you do this to me?...Bring it back and I promise I'll clean my room myself from now on!......Ben

__________________
Cogito, ergo BOOM!...

That is interesting, and I suppose a possibility. The SCSW, on the SN page (p488), comments that "Approx. the last half of the N200000 range and most of the N500000 range consists mostly of M28s and M58s....." There are other comments elsewhere that talk about guns not being built in serial order. I wonder if these "groups" of models built in close SN ranges have anything to do with how they are configured, and are grouped together based on the production requirements (such as the less-polished finish and limited options of the M28s and the 4" barrel on the M58, etc).

I'd love to have been a 'fly on the wall' at the S&W factory back in those days, and seen the processes used to produce these guns, and maybe figure out the why's and wherefore's regarding the oddities we see.

Probably because the Model 28 and 58 were law enforcement guns (primarily) and I'm sure large orders/shipments went to police agencies. The NC State Highway Patrol bought 400 Nickel Model 58's to try out. They decided to move to the .357, but the members that had the 58's carried them until the usual replacement interval when they went exclusively to Model 19's. As an aside they also had about 400 Colt Border Patrol .357 guns that they bought when the US Border Patrol cancelled their order.

__________________
Bill

My 1957 copy of Gun Digest has the Model 29 listed at $135.00 in bright blue or nickel.
The Model 28 is listed at $85.00 with Magna stocks or $89.00 with target stocks.

On a side note the Model 27 was $109.00
Model 19 was $95.00

I'm sure that manufacturing procedures dictated runs of certain guns. I would imagine that for certain operations machines would have to be set up differently or modified in some way. Surely there was someone who forecasted sales and then set up runs to build or semi build guns in groups to fill orders for a set amount of time. Once again they were manufacturing a product to sell at a profit and most assuredly looking to maximize efficiency in any way possible. Future collectors were the farthest thing from their thoughts.

My math comes up with 27227. This invoice definitely drives home the fact that S&W did not ship in serial number order.

AND, when you plug in a time frame to those numbers the spread becomes more amazing! I maintain a data base of serial numbers and follow a particular model number, here is an example of numbers that is difficult to fathom!
#S179xxx 10 Dec 1962 surrounding guns are 1957 & 1958 ship dates
#S230xxx 26 Sep 1962 surrounding guns are 1963-1965 ship dates
That's 51,235 numbers that contain 37 guns of the model I follow!
This is a shinning example of why Mr Jinks and Mr Cross has stated many times "S&W did not ship guns in sequential serial number order"!
jcelect

But would you like the paycheck from back then

__________________
Thirty characters. Exactly...

I just picked up one of the pre 29’s on that list S 178984.
Waiting on its arrival.

Attached Images

AE752610-9C13-4F79-B856-10AAEC234ACD.jpg (65.6 KB, 11 views)

__________________
Terry

Beautiful 6” pre 29 with S&W letter and bill of sale included.

Attached Images

2AD5F7DE-DFEA-484E-B57E-DF8720BE914A.jpg (97.4 KB, 25 views)

__________________
Terry

Back in the mid '70s, I knew an Alabama State Trooper who was issued and carried a Colt Border Patrol MK III.

I also knew a Trooper that carried a 6 1/2" nickel M29 and a 14" barreled M97 Winchester 12 gauge, neither of each was issued. But back then, Troopers were allowed some latitude in their sidearms.

__________________
John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Depends on whose it was...Do I get to pick?......Ben

__________________
Cogito, ergo BOOM!...