another new guy looking for answers again. I just picked up a 38 special. Guy said it was a chief special, anyways got a good deal now just trying to see what it really is and how old. I tried looking around the net to figure out how to determine but my numbers are odd, and there are 3 different sets of them. Under the Cylinder there is a backwards "E2" and then the numbers are 526xx. It also appears down on the grip on one side and the other is 4790. the numbers on the bottom are AHR50xx. Any info and possibly what its worth would be appreciated. Thanks!

Welcome! The bottom of the grip frame is nearly always the place to look for the serial number on an S & W revolver. The AHR prefix puts its ship date in the spring of 1985. A revolver of this era will have MOD and a number stamped on the frame under the barrel with the cylinder out. This will give everyone a better idea of its value.

This link is to a work in progress but an excellent reference:

To IDENTIFY your Gun >>>

Hope this is helpful.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

ah I don't know how I didn't see that before, its model 36 no dash. numbers e2 (backwards) then 52613

The only numbers that have any meaning are the serial #: AHR50XX and the Model #: 36 (no dash). The other numbers are assembly numbers used internally while the gun was being built and have no bearing on anything at this point.

Thanks for the info, I had no idea since there were 3 sets of numbers everywhere. It locks up tight but has some decent holster wear, so my next question is what might it be worth? and would it be worth more or devalue it to reblue?