Originally Posted by Doc44

bigtubby....For $50 you can send for a factory letter on a S&W firearm. The firearm is researched by Roy Jinks, S&W's Historian, who then sends you a letter with the general history of your model of S&W and confirms (or does not confirm) the characteristics of your particular gun. In your case, the letter would most likely confirm the Class A-engraving, the barrel length and finish of your 27-2 and would tell you when and where it was shipped. If the 27-2 was shipped as a plain revolver, the letter would state that.

Often, guns with special features, such as engraving or unusual barrel lengths are lettered to confirm the features in order to make them more marketable.

I think you can access the factory letter request form by clicking on Downloads and going on from there.

Bill