In his book, History of Smith & Wesson, Dr. Roy Jinks describes the serial number series of your Chiefs Special as the "roving J" series.
It began at 1J1 in mid-'70 and ran through 999J99 sometime in late '73.
Comparing yours to others in my database I'd guess S&W shipped yours early in '71.
The series had from one to three numbers preceding the J and from one to four after it, with no more than five numbers total.
After 2J9999 would be 3J1, and after 998J99 would be 999J1.
There's at least one known Chiefs Special stamped MOD. 34, and several other revolvers that were mis-stamped and over-stamped, too. Not common, but not unheard of.
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Wrangler of stray Chiefs
Bob
Last edited by two-bit cowboy; 02-20-2021 at 11:11 PM.
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