Originally Posted by hardscrabble

That SN doesn't make sense on a 1917. That's right in the middle of the military production range. Is it possible that you have a 45DA barrel on a 44 frame from the period, as DWalt pointed out, in which frames did not receive the trade mark? Somebody who is more familiar those 44 HE SN's will probably comment shortly, but one way to get a little further along with an ID is to look and see if the SN on the cylinder matches the one on the butt of the frame, and look to see if the barrel has a SN on it at all. No SN, or a different SN on the cylinder likely indicates a change, as does the lack of SN on the barrel. It doesn't "smell" like a 1917 to me...but there are experts here who can probably help.