Two or three years ago I saw this for sale on gunbroker. It was relisted a few times but never sold and then eventually disappeared. IIRC they wanted close to 2 grand.

I forgot about it until now when I found the photos that I saved to my hard drive.

Anyone have any information they can shed on this lil guy? Assuming its factory, is it a precursor to the PPC9?

Manufactured on December the 2nd of 1993

It is a nice early transitional 659. The aftermarket work looks attractive in the pictures. I probably would not have stippled the front strap

That could either be two slides welded together or one of the surplus 5" slides that were sold off about a decade ago.

What did the ad say about it?

The previous owner is probably the most qualified to tell you who did the modifications and refinish to the firearm

In addition to what Colt SAA wrote it appears to have been modified to single action. Notice how far back the trigger is while the safety is off.

I definitely do not know about this pistol and I'm salivating to learn more but I can tell you this much:

I just went to the safe to look at every one of my 1-2 Gen 9mm pistols (all are four inch) and every pistol has the "Smith & Wesson" stamp in EXACTLY the same place in relation to the slide lock cut-out, even my 39-2's and none of my (very average and typical) pistols are stamped in the same location as the pistol shown in these pictures. The exception is my no-dash 39 which uses a different font for the name.

I believe that evidence suggests that S&W fully intended that slide to be a full 5-inches as the S&W name is stamped so as to be centered on the slide.

Other bits I could notice...

No safety location dot on slide or on frame
Upgrade ambi decock with hex head fastener
Upgraded magazine release button
Trigger over-travel stop
Re-contoured hammer
No hole on bottom of MSH

Also says "9mm CTG" on barrel over chamber. Of all my 1-2 Gens, only my 60's era 39 no-dash says that. All my others say "9mm Parabellum."

Also, the front sight is dovetailed and there appears to be no separate barrel bushing which would be consistent with a transitional slide, but I have no adjustable sight 2-3 Gens to judge the look and shape of that front sight. Honestly, it kind of looks like a Model 52 front sight, but those were a part of a 52 slide, not a separate part you could tap in to a dovetail.

I find this one quite interesting.

I once converted a 52 to 9mm with just a BarSto barrel. Whoever did this was not your usual hobbyist . This thing is nice!

Tell me more about the 52 to 9mm conversion. Magazines?