Is this original Model 19-4 box and label from 1980?

[bushmaster1313]

Please look at the box and label
Do they look original for a 19-4 from 1980?
My concerns.

1) box looks ragged and label looks new
2) label is upside down
3) till when were the boxes light blue

[MygunisaS&Wrevolver]

That gray box was for nickle plated revolvers, which is also confirmed by the N on the label. Label was always put on upside down so it would be right side up when the bottom half of the box was placed in the top half for open display. Condition of the label versus old looking box is strange. Normally the labels will also be worn and yellow to some degree. Maybe the label end was stored against a wall or protected some how. The S/N puts it in the 1980 range according to the standard catalog of S&W.

[Pine_Worker]

75K…. Appears to be from 1980! Labels were upside down from the factory. Grey boxes were for nickel finish guns.

[bushmaster1313]

Thanks for the info on the light blue box and the upside down label.

[mh51]

I'd be a little suspicious of the 2" barrel marking....
a 19-4 would have a 2.5" or longer. And the lack of stock marking
also makes me wonder, usually they were marked to indicate magna
or target stocks.
Not an expert....just my thoughts.

[VM]

My opinion is Fake label.
If for no other reasons than:
- Too clean
- Smeared ink
- label not completely filled out

[lrb1200]

Well OP,

All I can tell you, is I wouldn't buy Anything from
someone who was "pitching" that label is "Factory Original".

[RCL-09]

I did a search of auctions for "Model 19-4 box " and saw a 19 nickel for sale with a very, very different label.

IMO the OP one is too clean and does not seem real.

Edited to add that it also looks oversized.

[crazyphil]

Here's the label on my dark blue box for my 19-4. I bought it new in
mid to late 1970s. Don't remember exactly when. It's been over 40 years.
I don't know when that SN was made. If anyone does, please
advise.

[Muss Muggins]

Interesting that there’s no inspector or packer ID numbers. Me thinks the forger didn’t know what to write . . .

[s&wchad]

S&W did use silver boxes on nickel guns back then, unless they didn't have any on hand.

As others have mentioned, Combat Magnums had 2-1/2" barrels, not 2". The lack of inspector/packer identification and the condition of the label makes me very suspicious. If I was a prospective buyer, I'd assume it's a non-original box/counterfeit label and value it accordingly.

Here's a nickel Model 34-1 from close to the same time period. Note the discrepancies in the labels (e.g. color of the printing, width of the characters, edge spacing, etc...). I'm sure mine is original, because it included documentation when the deceased collector purchased it new.

[Thiokol]

As I've been told, the labels were put on upside down so that when the guns were in S&W's inventory, they could be read easily and to eliminate the bottom with the gun from falling when the boxes were picked for shipment.

[Doc44]

The label may be real, but I strongly suspect it was filled out and put on the box by someone who wanted to make it seem like the original label, which it is not. The serial number would date the box and label to 1979 and the label does not appear to be 42 years old. It looks like it was filled out only recently.

Bill

[raljr1]

Here is a picture of the label from the box my 19-3 came in when I bought it used in 1977. Thia box has been kept in gun cabinets and safes since 1990. This is more what I might expect to see.

Robert

[JP@AK]

Originally Posted by crazyphil

I don't know when that SN was made. If anyone does, please advise.

63K is from 1980. The -4 was introduced in 1977, and lasted until 1982.

[LPD256]

My 2 1/2 gun labels say 2 1/2 , not 2 as on this label.

[ron 57]

Here’s a box for a 19-4 close to the one in question. Most of the factory labels from forty+ years do show some discoloration even if stored under good conditions. My Smiths from that era also have a machine printed label on the opposite side of the box. I would think that printed label would be more difficult to reproduce but someone probably has.

[RCL-09]

Seeing the other end of the box I have to say, IMO, there is absolutely no way the label is real.

[Narragansett]

Looks a bit new to me. I suppose it has happened, but I might guess that it would be a rare exception not to have the stock box on the label filled in

[sw282]

Old box.. NEW LABEL

282

[Hawg Rider]

My Model 19-4, nickel 2-1/2" bbl. (s/n 33K1035) was manufactured in 1978. I wish I had the original box for it, but also wasn't sure if the box would have been gray or blue.