I bought a 686-4 the other day and saw something that I thought was odd. The serial number on the frame in front of the cylinder looked like it was etched and not stamped. When I pulled the grips the numbers there also looked like they were etched and not stamped. All my other S&W have stamped serial numbers. Is this normal or should I be worried that someone changed the serial number.
Many S & W revolvers of that era had serial numbers that appeared to be applied with a laser in a dotted pattern. Later and current models are either laser engraved in a finer manner or etched as you observed.
serial number question
Linear Mode
