At my LGS a man had brought in a beautiful Early 29-1. i dont remember the numbers on it but i think he said it was from 58 or 59. I am pretty sure he posts on here so hopefully he will chime in with a little more info, but wow, it was beautiful. I dont know a whole lot about any older S&W but i know an awesome gun when i see one.
Forum member 29-1 might be very interested in that gun depending on serial number.
i cant remember the SN all i know was that it was one of the first produced that went to a LH thread. i may be completely wrong here (like i said i dont know much about the numbers or what they are) but im almost completely positive it was a 29-1 with a 184xxx SN. but i was thinking that the -1 would be between 198-220 or somewhere in there. once again guys pardon me for my ignorance i just know that the gun was gorgeous and now im finding myself wanting to learn a little more about the model 29.