Here's a choice: You have enough money for one vintage Smith and Wesson automatic. The cost is within ten dollars of one another. The condition on each is equal; excellent to like-new. No box, no papers, one factory mag. One is a retired cop gun, well taken care of, in excellent original condition, however it is not department marked. The other is a commercial sale pistol but rare and in unusually good original factory shape.

The basis of the choice is youre a collector of S&W vintage automatics. This is your primary collection focus. Factory boxes and such are nice but not that important since you collect guns, not boxes. Given these circumstances, which would you select and more importantly, why?

Commercial....

Robert

__________________
Robert
SWCA #2906, SWHF #760

Hello, S&W59, are you pulling my leg?

__________________
Mike 2796
SoFo Bunch member

No, why would I?

Police guns are always something I bought only if they were selling at a discount. Commercial gun all the way.

If you have a personal connection to the LE department and/or officer I would opt for that one; otherwise, the other one would be a clear winner.

__________________
Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

The ex-cop gun is one of the DAO models which I find mechanically intriguing. I also find pistols and long guns that were actually in military or police service more desirable than safe queens. I also love collecting obscura model S&W's. Thus my quandry.

A non marked ex police department firearm is just a commercial firearm, nothing special at all, just another story that won’t matter to anyone in the future, unless that model was unique one known to be issued to police.

A part of my collection are ex police firearms, some marked, some not and a few that are known that only that model went to certain police departments. I like guns that have a working history rather than just being safe queens to admire.

__________________
Life NRA, Life TSRA, C&R FFL

The model in question is one of the DAO series third-gen S&W pistols that weren't marketed to the general public. I believe the DAO's were not part of the S&W sales catalog and were marketed to police and security firms exclusively. It was possible to purchase one as a private individual through a dealer, but the dealer had to special-order it, if what I have been told is true.

Your money,, your collection. Do what pleases you.

And what is the scarce commercial pistol?

__________________
Life NRA, Life TSRA, C&R FFL

I have 2 police trade in pistols in my collection: a CHiP 4006tsw and a Sig P226 2 tone in .40. I bought the S&W because it was one of the only models available with an integral rail, and I bought the Sig because it was a fraction of the cost of a new model and was in good shape. The fact that they were both police pistols doesn’t make me enjoy them more, it was simply the vector for getting what I wanted at a good price.

I’d probably get the rare commercial pistol over the police trade.

If it MUST be one or the other . . . . .
Unless there is personal sentimental value to the LEO gun, the Rare Commercial gun is the way I would go

If I were a Collector with your views, I would buy one cash and work out a Lay-a-Way deal on the other one so that over time I would own both

__________________
"Acta non verba"

What are the models in question?

I find LE issued guns to also be really neat... but if they aren’t marked in any way, I cannot see much reason to expect or believe that they were issued. A factory letter may very well tell you but the price of the letter is (arguably) gone to the absurd.

It seems like an unmarked “LE issued” gun has no provenance, and the provenance is what is intriguing, at least to me.

Scarce commercial guns are interesting to me, but I have my limits. It needs to be more than scarce to really grab me. Perfect example that pops in to my head: S&W 4556. These are definitely scarce. I’d buy one if the price were right, only because I know it would make great trade fodder for folks who like scarce stuff. Otherwise, I have no interest in a 4556. DAO 3rd Gens won’t ever be my taste. Good guns for sure, but nothing I’m attracted to.

Would need to know models before my choice is made.

Without info about what the rare commercial model is and why it's considered as such... we may as well just flip a coin, rather than trying to make an informed opinion about the 2 guns.

__________________
Conrad
SWCA #1830 SWHF #222

You're handicapping any honest answer by not revealing which models you're talking about, because that's the most important consideration when picking which one. That's your decision, though.
My opinion - depends on which of them I'm more interested in. One could be the rarest of rare pistols, but if it doesn't appeal to me, it's not going to be my choice. Good luck with your choice!

I would go with the one that I looked forward to shooting.

Thank you all for the feedback regarding this scenario. The exact make and models aren't the issue, the question was which given the choice you would make regardless of the specific models involved. Your points are all valid and contributed to various points of consideration before coming to my decision. Best regards to everyone that contributed, particularly those that explained their reasoning.

Commercial.

I could care less if an LEO carried the gun and would only buy one if there was a STEEP discount.

My Model 1006 turned out to be a police gun. When I asked Mr. Jinks for the ship date, he added "interesting gun" to his response. Well, I had to letter it.
It was shipped directly to the Sheriff of a county in the Virginal coal mining region. It does not bear any special markings identifying it as such and only by lettering it would I have ever known. I bought it because I wanted a nice 10mm S&W.

But back to the original question, i would buy the more scarce commercial gun.