I had a flight cancelled, so I had the day off.......went to a couple of LGS, and three pawn shops. At the third pawn shop there was a gentleman cleaning a S&W revolver......he had most of it covered up with towels, so I ask what it was. He said it was a 5" 27-2. He went on to tell me it was a rare gun, and they would want a "high price" for it. I got the chance to look at it for a couple of minutes, and this is what I know about the gun.

5", blue.....good shape, I would say 95% +......didn't look to be fired much if at all. the only thing I could see was a turn line, it was very oily. I ask if they had the box, he didn't know. I told him I had cash, and he again said it would be a high price.

It is a 5" with non diamond magna grips,(he didn't know anything about the grips being numbered to the gun).......also an S serial number......if the grips are numbered to the gun, it would be a late 68-69 gun........

my question is what would this gun be worth.....I'm going back in the morning to see if they have a price on it yet...


I went back today and they had a price on the gun.......$1299.00....kinda what I expected.

No box, no tools.....non diamond grips, which may or may not be correct for a S, serial numbered gun, but no one has checked them.

The gun is in very good shape, cleaned up, it looks very nice.

Hardly a turn line at all, no evidence on the recoil shield that the gun has ever been fired, the discharge holes on the cylinder look the same.

The grips have a few small dings, and chips in the finish, plus a small amount of finish wear on the tip of the left side of the barrel.
there are also a few "handling" marks on the frame, nothing that would be out of the ordinary for a 50 year old gun.

I am thinking the gun is worth $800-$900........opinions

There are 27-2's on G.B. right now. Look for 5", and like condition & options to get an idea on price. Use this for a tool only! You have to add shipping and FFL fees to their prices. Good luck on your quest! Bob

Man working the counter was sure a big help!!!

Depending on condition, the 5" 27-2 and earlier guns have been averaging north of $1000 on GunBroker lately. I've been looking for a 6" 27 myself and have been looking pretty hard the last 1 1/2 weeks there. Shooter grades in 5" should be closer to the $1000 mark and the pristine guns with presentation case are valued much higher.

The 5" Model 27-2 isn't rare. They certainly were produced in smaller numbers than those with 6" and 6 1/2" barrels, but "rare" they are not.

On the other hand, I believe them to be the best balanced of the lot. I also think the 3 1/2" barrels are in higher demand and many seem to like them the best. The 4" barrel is probably the most scarce of the several lengths available on the Model 27 and its predecessors.

Here are pictures of a 5" Model 27-2 that I picked up a few months back for less than half of the price quoted so far in this thread. I know I got a screaming deal on it.



Good luck.

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Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318

I found two 5" guns on gun broker. one with Goodyear grips for a minimum bid of $1k.....and a pre 27, with a minimum bid of $2k.....no bids on either.

Not trying to be a wise guy but make sure they are measuring the barrel correctly. A 6" barrel measured incorrectly measures out to about 5 inches. To get a proper measurement you measure from the cylinder to the tip of the barrel. Sorry but I don't know your level of expertise.

I literally had the gun in my hands for about 1 minute. I did not measure the barrel, but it did appear to be a 5"......I will look at it again tomorrow.

Another tell-tale for a 5" barrel is that most of them have a Baughman ramped front sight and most 6 and 6 1/2" 27's have a patridge style front sight. This isn't an all-inclusive rule though as I have seen 6" barrel models with a ramped front sight too.

Be sure to look at completed auctions to get the actual selling prices.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Every gun I ever wanted was 'rare'. "I'm looking for an S&W Shield". "I've got one, but it's a rare model so it will be a high price.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

There's a nickel 27-2 5" in the 'guns for sale' section of this forum.
Looks like a very clean one with presentation case, etc, for $1,100 plus shipping.

It was posted a few days ago and no action yet.

I have no connection to this gun, just pointing that out for pricing information.

That is true! They can ask whatever they want. If nobody bids, what does that mean? Bob

The 4" 27s are the least common..... IIRC only "cataloged" from about 1980/81 to 92...... replacing both the 3.5 and 5 inch barrel lengths. but by then the L-frame had been introduced and was a better option for those who didn't want a K-frame .357; so numbers were low.

27s were offered from 1957 to 1980 in 3 1/2 inch 5 and 6 or 61/2 inch.

of those 3 or 4 the 5" is IIRC the least common; but not rare just uncommon.

Keep in mind that in these days of $400 "plastic fantastics"..... to most folks $1000 is a "high price" for a gun. As a guy who lived most of my life in the 20th century..... I'm having a hard time coming to grips with $1000 Smiths.

If it is in (hey, that's four words starting with the letter "i" ) good cosmetic and mechanical condition, $1000 is about the going rate. An S prefix version may bring a slight premium because it is older than an N prefix gun, even though it is the same (there were no finish or mechanical changes between the two).

A price in the $700-800 range would be a good deal, and it sounds like your local dealer was still mulling over what to ask...good luck!

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

You might should have pressed him for a price. Sounds like he wanted to do some of his own research to see what it was worth since he did not give a price.
Hoping you get it.

Decide before hand how much you will be willing to spend, bring that amount plus $100.00 in cash ( a cushion, just in case) I do better when I leave the credit card at home.
Sometimes a pile of cash and a "this is all I have " will swing the deal.
Good luck !
Gary

Back up for update

A 5" S prefix as described is easily a $ 1,200 gun around here.
It would not last 1 hour on the Alabama armslist .

Lewis

Wow! I paid $450 out the door for the one in Post #4. That was less than a year ago. I know I got a good deal, but I guess I didn't know how good.

Oh, and it came in its original box.

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Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318

Wow, $ 450 , that was a screaming deal. That's about what a decent model 10 goes for these days.

Lewis

Not a $1300 gun as described. You can see if the seller is realistic with bargaining now (if you really want it), or later (when he becomes tired of it sitting in his display case) .

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

That wasn't a screaming deal; you robbed somebody.

Well, the owner of the shop where I bought it has been a friend for more than 30 years. That day, I bought a nice nickel 4" Kit Gun from him at about the going rate. Once we got settled on that, he took the Model 27-2, in its original box, out from under the counter and showed it to me. He said he'd been holding it back until I came in. After I looked it over, I asked what he wanted for it. He said, "if you still want the Kit Gun, I'll throw this one in for $450." Done!

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Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318

Wow, that is one heck of a nice friend then! He really done you right!

Agreed. But he runs a gun shop that is also a pawn shop. I doubt he made any money on the 27-2, but I also doubt he lost anything on it either.

As you said, he's a good friend.

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Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318