Curl-

I no longer believe in Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy, but have no hesitation in believing in your gun.

The question was asked if S&W had frames from Victory Model production that would be numbered as civilian guns and finished as such. I would be amazed if that was not the case. They probably had quite a number of frames that were originally destined for .38-200 and US Victory Models, and I feel sure they were what was used for postwar production. No reason to think that some frames had not been numbered prior to use in commercial production.

I'm not an advanced collector, but tend to think that any guns made in this period and having a lanyard hole plugged were from Victory Model origin, but completed as commercial items.

P.S .: I looked at your link to see the ad. Can you get that rust off with a lead pencil? It looks very small, unless it extends a lot under the grip. Have you had the sideplate off to check the action for rust or congealed oil, etc? If you shoot it, let us know how it fares.