Identifying .38 Special S&W Revolver

CAPTR · #1 01-26-2017, 04:34 PM

I have a S&W .38 Special, 6 in barrel, 6 shot revolver. Serial No. 523819. It looks like a Model 10 K-frame but want confirmation of when it was made as well as model and frame type. Thanks.

gmborkovic · #2 01-26-2017, 04:41 PM

Any letter prefixes? Or just 523819? Best

DocB · #3 01-26-2017, 05:02 PM

Most likely in the 1930's if there is no letter prefix to the SN. Somebody with a lettered SN will come along and pin it down better. Actually, I take that back. I have one with the SN 100,000 higher than your gun. The experts on this Forum estimated it to be around 1928. It's hard to date guns in this timeframe. Smith made a lot in the 1920's. When the Depression hit, they couldn't sell many. Many of these guns lingered in inventory for over 10 years before they sold. You could have a gun with your SN that was manufactured in 1928 but didn't sell until 1938. A "letter" will only tell you when the gun sold and shipped. . .not when it was manufactured. This makes dating guns from the Great Depression era very difficult/impossible to date.

gmborkovic · #4 01-26-2017, 05:59 PM

Hello Doc, I was attempting to ascertain if the Op revealed the complete Sn. He is a new member. Us old guys know what it is. Im attempting to teach and let the new guys learn. Anyway, best to you.

JP@AK · #5 01-26-2017, 06:09 PM

Welcome to the Forum, CAPTR.

As a reference point, 531541 shipped in February, 1926. Yours would probably be in that vicinity, although shipping dates can vary by a year or two (or longer). It takes a letter to know for sure.

Actually though, in the mid-1920s guns were still rolling out the door at a pretty good pace. The slowdown didn't really start until after 1929, when the stock market crashed. The country didn't dive into the depths of the Depression until the 1930-31 period.

JP@AK · #6 01-26-2017, 06:14 PM

And gmborkovic has a very good point. A letter prefix will change the date by a wide margin. Letter prefixes started in late April, 1942, with the V, and continued after the war, with S, C, and D on the fixed sight K frame guns. Roughly half way through the C series, it became the Model 10.