This Model 48 (.22 magnum rimfire) was plainly stamped in the frame's yoke cutout as a "MOD. 48-2."



The Model 48-3 was authorized in 1967, and a check with the SCSW showed that by its serial number, the gun was shipped in the mid-1970s, putting it well within that dash number's range.

I checked with Roy on this, and he confirmed that the gun was indeed shipped in October, 1975, about 8 years after the "dash 2" markings should have stopped.

His only explanation was that the gun was probably mis-stamped. My only question is "How did a dash-2 stamp fall into the hands of a maybe-drunk stamper in 1975???? "

They say never say never with Smith & Wesson, and I believe it!

John

P.S. Do I have a rare and extremely valuable anomaly here?

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

Yeah, the mis-stamped guns don't really have any value, but I'll give you $50 for it.

Beautiful 22 Magnum you have there.

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Klaatu Barada Nikto

I have had 4 or 5 misstamped S&W revolvers. Interesting but not remarkable and, unfortunately, no additional value.

Kevin

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Unshared knowledge is wasted.

Stamping boo-boo's aren't unique to S&W.

I'll bet you didn't know that Colt made an "APMY SPECIAL"!



It's not in any of my reference books, so it must be worth BIG DOLLAPS!

Attached Images

000_9544.jpg (98.9 KB, 912 views)

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"I also cook."

My 48-2 has S/N that dates it to 1971. Go figure.

Before it got stolen years ago, my son had a S&W 357 mag stamped with caliber 22 lr on the barrel. I don't recall what model the 357 was, but it definitely was a 357 magnum.

The relocation of the rear sight leaf screw slightly forward resulted in the -3 model variation. Is it possible your revolver does not have this change and is actually a -2?

Bill

Nope - it's a dash 3 in all discernible respects. The screw is forward of the barrel/cylinder gap - the same as on a Model 67 I have from 1978. The gun came to me in 99% condition in its original box with tools and papers, and the stocks are also definitely dash 3 (no central diamond). The label on the box says dash 2, but that could have just been read off the stamping. I'd guess that -2 frames were pretty well used up by 1975!

Pretty sure it's what Roy surmised - just a mis-stamp. Someone on this thread mentioned a 1971 gun with a -2 stamp. I note that the "2" in the stamping is larger than the rest of the characters in the stamp, indicating that the "2" was separate punch and was simply picked up by mistake rather than the "3." Must have been a Monday morning and a hangover...

John

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

PALADIN85020,
I have 48-2, serial # 6K4898. I purchased this new in January of 1975. I had posted about this anomaly on other posts before now.
It also should be a 48-3. Mine has the 8 3/8" barrel. I will ask Roy when it shipped as soon as there is an opening.

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Ken

Your serial # is pretty close to the one on my 48. Please keep us posted on what you find out from Roy in this thread. Can you post a photo of the stamping, similar to the photo in the original post?

John

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

I'm probably missing a detail (or maybe major part) of the posting, but I thought that the Army Special was the immediate predecessor and very close relative of the Official Police. Maybe I'm mixing that up with a similar real name?

BTW, beautiful example.

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Formerly Model520Fan

I’m aware of the “ARMY SPECIAL” and its history. Look closely at the barrel marking in my photo. Mine is an APMY SPECIAL.





We’re talking about stamping “Boo-Poo’s”.
You may think that a “P” looks like an “R”, but you’d be missing a leg to stand on in court!

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"I also cook."

Sounds like there was a rack of 48-2 frames that got shoved in a corner somewhere, only to be found years later.

Figuped I was missing something. Thanks fop stpaightening me out!

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Formerly Model520Fan

Don't think so. 48-2 frames would have had the rear sight leaf screw hole farther back - over the barrel/cylinder gap. Gas cutting there is why they moved it forward with the dash 3 version.

I think a stamper screwed up and used his "2" stamping punch instead of "3" for a while before someone straightened him out.

John

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

Why? Do you know for sure they were always drilled after they were stamped? Maybe they were stamped before they were drilled.....hard to believe a stamper used the wrong number after eight years. Easier for me to believe a bunch of raw stamped frames were later drilled for the then current specs. But we'll never know.

PALADIN85020,
Here is the photo you requested. I will post shipping info when I get it.

Attached Images

48-2a (2).JPG (137.7 KB, 126 views)

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Ken

Pretty much an exact duplicate of mine.

New development in this puzzle - Yesterday I examined the bottom of the topstrap on mine with a magnifying glass and a strong light. There is a faint outline of a filled hole where the earlier rear sight mounting hole was located, pretty much right over the barrel-cylinder juncture. I really had to look for it, but it's there.

I therefore have a new theory. These were originally dash 2 frames and so marked. S&W may have pulled these out of inventory at later dates, filled the old screw hole and drilled a new one to dash 3 specs. The frames remained marked as dash 2s.

I suggest you examine the same area on yours, again with a magnifying glass and a strong light. I used a small high-power flashlight, and the filled hole is best seen with the light at a strong angle.

John

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

Once again.....S&W never throws out anything that can be used!!!!!!!!

I was in the camp who thought the gun had probably languished in inventory well past its' born-on-date. It never would have occurred to me that a screw hole would be filled in order to fit a dash 3 rear sight. Kudos to John for brilliant detection skills!

After many years of gathering S&Ws, the company clearly was frugal but also sloppy with inventory control.

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Bob.
SWCA 1821

Roy will tell you that taking the time for better inventory control of thousands of frames (such as by serial # order, etc.) held no benefit to S&W's ability to get guns assembled and shipped out the door; that was the priority. If there was a benefit S&W would have done it.

Sure in this case it caused a need to fill a hole in the wrong location because they had no more earlier rear sights to use that matched. But I'm certain hole filling wasn't done one-by-one but rather done to the frames that needed it in one batch.

Dash #s indicating an engineering change not present on the gun and dash #s not indicating a change that is on the gun are common. John's case is just a new wrinkle of an old issue.

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Jim
S&WCA #819

I suspect that what we are seeing is due to Batch Manufacturing. When producing items that sell in small yearly volumes it's common for manufacturers to run a large volume of detail parts to distribute the cost for setting up the production line over a larger number of complete products. So way back in 1965 or so S&W ran what was essentially a 10 year supply of frames and stamped them with the model number.

Even for large volume items, they just made bigger batches.

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Jim
S&WCA #819

FOLLOW UP TO MY ORIGINAL POST:
I got shipping info from Roy. My 48-2 shipped in December of 1974. John's 48-2 shipped in October of 1975. As we have known for years, S&W did not ship in serial number order.
My 48-2 is 7 numbers higher than John's but shipped 10 months earlier.
Also, I could not detect any marks on the underside of the top strap indicating that a screw hole had been welded in (to changes the rear sight front screw location).

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Ken

Well here's one more that was apparently mis-stamped. Interesting that so many of these were shipped like this.

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	IMG_4400.jpg (88.5 KB, 48 views)
	IMG_4399.jpg (102.3 KB, 29 views)

When they ran out of the old style sight I'm sure there were 1000s of frames in different stages of production. No doubt your frame along with many others were in an early stage of production which didn't have screw holes drilled and tapped yet. So when it reached the stage for hole drilling, it got the sight hole drilled in the new location.

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Jim
S&WCA #819

I have this 4" 48 that is marked as a no-dash but by serial number etc should be a dash 3. Based on posts here on the forum 48's seem to have a lot of mismarked guns. Who knows why. Just part of the fun of collecting. (sorry for the ****** photo)

Attached Images

48-3 No Dash.JPG (57.8 KB, 13 views)

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Jim
Many K and N Frames

I have a 48-2 that dates to 1971. Go figure. I bought it thinking I would like to get into 22 mag, but alas I didn't. Sits in the safe until I get the opportunity to move it.

Add another one to the list. I have one too.

Because they were slow sellers. Which means changes took place while they were bare frames still in inventory but already stamped with an earlier Model dash #.

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Jim
S&WCA #819