Hello all,

I see the large thread on box issues, and now seem to have an issue of my own

I recently sold a very nice 27-2 3.5", early 1970's vintage to another forum member and he is concerned the box is wrong/faked. I certainly did not do this if it is, but need to know some opinions. Did S&W always put the label on a certain end of the box? Please help if you can, as I don't have any 1970's boxes to compare with. Does anything appear phony on the label? Did the 1970's boxes always have the model number imprinted on one side of the box? (opposite the label side) I think his concern is that the box is incorrect and the label may have been used to hide this.

Thanks in advance,
Tim



http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/...7-235001-1.jpg

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Tim
SWHF #395

Tim
I think it is alright.

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Don Mundell

The question to me is, did Smith send out boxes with the label covering the printed description? Meaning on the incorrect end of the box. That makes one wonder about the boxes authenticity unless this is an not uncommon occurrence.

The box is such great shape that there should be no suspicion given to the whiteness of the label. The condition of the label matches the condition of the box.

I hope this clears things up a bit.

It must be said that I have 100% confidence in Tim. There is absolutely no questioning his integrity.

EDIT: To clear things up a little, I am the buyer here. And the question is not if Tim did some thing wrong. He received the box in this condition. Did the company send out boxes like this or is something else going on?

When this gun is sold the question is bound to come up. It would be nice to have an answer.

It is even conceivable that if they ran out of a correct box they could have used another and intentionally put the label on the opposite end.

Well, I am certainly not an expert but I have purchased my share of guns during the period that the blue boxes were used. It looks ok to me as Mr. Trolley guy has noted the box looks pretty good.
My experience is that the label that contained the serial number, product number, packer #, barrel length and other identifiers was on the opposite end of the printed basic model description, usually in a gray color, such as "Smith and Wesson model 39 double action Blue" etc. I have never seen a printed (attached) label over the other end printed on the box label. They were always opposite.
Hope this helps..... Just what is the other member alleging, exactly?

Aircrewman, in your post you stated" They were always opposite". I worked for a S&W dist. in MD, and use to rec. the new shipments from the factory.
I rec. thousands of boxes from the factory, and every once in awhile would check in a box that did not conform to the norm. Some had no white label at all. Some were opposite, some were right side up. Some were so crooked they taped the lid to the bottom. Some were totally wrong on every entry and the owner had to call the factory. That is why we opened every box for entry into the Fed. log. I have learned not to say "always" when it comes to S&W. Best, Mike 2796

Mike, That answers my question completely. That is all that I needed to know. Without that answer I would have always wondered.

And the community has a little more knowledge about boxes. That is also important.

Thanks.

And thanks to Tim for putting this right out there.

Case closed.


It is not my thread but I think this is a good point to LOCK this thread and put it to sleep.

Ok great! Thanks Trolley, and all who chimed in!
Tim

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Tim
SWHF #395

I recently had a two piece box that had a plain blue end and (what I believe to be factory original) white sticker for a 27-2 six incher on the other end.
The white sticker was damaged and cock eyed and bothered me. I have many boxes and use them for storage.
I removed the sticker and to my delight, it had a inked description for "Model 27 / 5" Barrel" on the end of the blue lid.
My point in posting this is that I don't think that S&W wasted anything and that they reused boxes.
The sticker in Tim's original post looks proper to me but wouldn't be surprised if there was info underneath it.

I have worked in a few gun shops, this is not a SW only thing. When a gun is booked in it is done from the firearm, not the box.

Occasionally we would find one marked wrong. The gun it's self was also used when it was sold and the paper work made out for the new owner.

O.P. requested the thread be locked..

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SWCA #2306
DAV in honor of POP