I inherited a S&W 38 special. Ser #1D60504 nickle plated. Aftermarket rubber grips. Gun is in excellent condition. Only wear my untrained eyes see is a little holster rub. other markings on handle include: "6" inside a hexagon, "H" inside a triangle, "7435" all stamped into the right side of side of the handle; "A11", "A16 (or 15)", "S", "82602" all stamped into the left side of the handle. inside of barrel and cylinders shiny, so it wasn't used much. Age and value?

Is it marked Mod-10 in the yoke area and what is the barrel length?

__________________
Mike 2796
SoFo Bunch member

jet - welcome to the forum. Are you sure it's nickel, or could it be stainless? THe book we all refer to - the Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson, says that 1D serial numbers were in models 64 (38 special) and 65 (.357 magnum) in 1976 - 1980. These were both stainless steel models. However, it shows the highest 1D serial number as being 1D99999. Are you sure of the number?

Indeed. So the SCSW list puts this gun, 1D60504, in 1979/80.

What problem do you see with the serial number?

OK most likely stainless. Was told it was nickel plate by "someone who knows guns".
MOD 64-3
4" barrel. Serial # is correct, and by your example would fall into that category
Attaching 3 pics Would like to know what its worth.

Thanks

Attached Images

	20160329_162435.jpg (63.5 KB, 166 views)
	20160329_162755.jpg (75.3 KB, 150 views)
	20160329_162515.jpg (82.0 KB, 159 views)

Made in 1979. The Model 64-3 is the stainless version of the Model 10-8. Until 1983, these were also in the D prefix serial sequence.

1979 went up to somewhere in the 1D60000 range (at least). 1Dxxxxx ended in 1980 at 1D99999. In 1981, they were in the 7D10000 range or higher. 17Dxxxx started in 1982 and 30Dxxxx was as high as the D prefix numbers went (1983). After that S&W went to the three alpha serial numbers on all its revolvers.

The stainless guns took a jump in serialization because the carbon steel guns began to use 2Dxxxxx in 1977, while the stainless guns were still using the 1D sequence.

__________________
Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318

No offense to you or the "someone who knows guns" but what you have is a stainless that at one time was polished to a gloss finish. If you are so inclined any of those blemishes in the second picture can easily be polished out. Mother's Mag Polish or Flitz on a soft cloth rubbed softly will do wonders. Follow it with some Renaissance Wax and she will shine like a new dime. I have a former LE, agency marked, model 66-1 that polished out very well. hardcase60

__________________
You want me to do what?

I carried one of those for several years. I think the serial no. was 1D2213. Going by memory. I replaced it with a M-66-3.

I had those same Pachmayr Presentation grips, but mine fit better. I think someone trimmed a little rubber off of these grips to better clear a speed loader.

My gun was very accurate. I hope that yours will be.

You need to find someone else who supposedly knows guns. He should have known to just open the gun and see the model marking if it's so bright as to be mistaken for nickel.

As for value, in that condition, with no box, papers, etc., maybe $350-450, depending on who wants it and where you live. As a family heirloom and a practical revolver, it should be worth far more to you. I'd clean it up and polish out the scratches and keep it. Indeed, I'd treasure it.

BTW, you have just one cylinder, with six chambers. Terminology can be important. And, yes, you can fire Plus P ammo in it.

Wow - either jet adjusted his post (I could have sworn it initially had 6 digits after the 1D) - OR I am old and losing it (which is equally likely)!

Thanks to all for your input. Affirmative on the speed loaders. I have 2 of those that were with it. This was my father's service revolver when he was a constable. Mom gave it to me after he passed away. It's just been sitting in a box for several years. I recently decided that a semi automatic would be more practical for home protection, and figured I would sell this to help with that expense. Practicality trumps sentimentality I guess. I'm sure I just offended all of you. Sorry for that.

JP@AK I realized last night that I was talking to the same person on two sites. Thanks for the input and the link, I enjoyed your article.

It's yours to do with what you will, of course, and I don't know what autoloader you had in mind; but K-frame .38 Special revolvers are fine, effective home defense guns that are simple to use and as nearly 100% reliable as a handgun can be.

Just an observation, and I'm certainly not offended.

My house handgun is a 4" Model 10-5, but I also have a double-barreled 12ga. shotgun and #4 buckshot.

__________________
Oh well, what the hell.

Actually, I find revolvers to be more practical for HD duties and also for concealed carry. Revolvers are easier to maintain in the home environment and shooting the .38 Special they will be a lot kinder on your ears if you have to set off a few rounds while standing next to a wall or in a hallway. Bill

Again, thanks for the input.
Yeah, I considered those points. My big hangup is keeping a loaded pistol lying around (which a revolver would have to be, to be effective). Common sense tells me that by the time I retrieve a loaded gun from a safe, or load an unloaded revolver, I'll be dead.

With a semiautomatic, I can keep a loaded mag out of the gun, and slap it in in seconds. Even if I chose to keep the mag in the gun and it somehow found its way into young hands, you could pull the trigger all day and it won't fire until the slide is racked.

Plus, I then have 16 rounds at my disposal as opposed to 6. If I ever need to use it, I'll feel better knowing that. While I can put a nice grouping in the middle of the head of a paper target at 10 meters, I'm not naive enough to think I would be that effective in a gunfight.

Otherwise, I would definitely just use the .38, and the only reason I am unloading it (pun intended) is that's how I justified the expense of my Walther PPX (which by the way is a very nice gun; little recoil, and a much lighter trigger - even though its DAO - than the S&W revolver).

A speed loader will work as fast as a magazine if you decide to go with the revolver. The higher capacity of the semi auto is overrated in home defense situations. The deciding factor should be which gun you feel most comfortable with and shoot the best. The average home defense shooting is somewhere around 1.5 shots so you should be able to handle just about anything with the 6 you have.

If your safety plan depends on the unauthorized user not being able to load the gun, you need to reassess it. There are lots of good storage options out there that will keep the gun out of the wrong hands but keep it accessible for defensive uses. If you are going to commit to keeping a gun for home defense, you have to commit to doing safely and that means that you have to invest the time to learn the weapon and the money to purchase a proper container to store it in. Unfortunately, a lot of people cheep out on the second part.

I think in the end you would regret selling Dad's service revolver. I would go with a safe that you could lock during time when little fingers are around and keep it out when warranted. My dad also has a squeeze activated trigger lock that is a quick remove for an adult but my 10 year old son can't remove it.

jet9637,

Somebody had to do it, so it might as well be me. If you are dead set on selling the gun then please send me a PM. I'm a sucker for S&W's that have seen service in LE. There I did it............. Best regards, hardcase60

__________________
You want me to do what?