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Originally Posted by hsguy
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The first run of the CSTs (CST-1) were very few in the 55,0xx range, NONE in the 56xxx range, and the rest in 577xx to 578xx range, are not sequential. Perhaps built in runs of 10 or 20 at a time for a total of 114 CST-1s. These were all matte finish blue. I originally corrected the Blue Book of Gun Values back in about 1995 who previously had them all listed as bright premium blue.
The next run of the CST (CST-2) are in the 149xxx to 150xxx range. I'm not sure exactly how many (likely about 200 or so ... jump in to correct me) but these were all bright, premium blue.
The box you show is correct with the TAR on the end label and should have the serial number on the bottom of the box (at one end or the other) then another series of number mid box in a white grease crayon type marker. Needless to say, the stocks (grips) are incorrect.
Back about 30+ years ago there were very few collectors of the Chief's Special Target models, including myself, Joe Cebull and a very few others.
In the pre-internet days you bought LOTS of books because the world of data was not at your fingertips. AND you subscribed to the better respected Gun classifieds, e.g. GUNLIST, etc. and traded with members of your club or clubs. Collecting of baby Chiefs was near non existent as a sub-culture collecting back then other than a sharp collector would always be attracted to a nice condition, low SN gun of the models he collects.
The early Centennials were also sought with the airweight nickel Centennial in the front running for the more desirable as many had peeled and had shown up with peeling nickel or refinished. It was (and still is) difficult to find an early Centennial Airweight with a tight original nickel finish.
Then, of course, were the Chief Special Airweight with the alloy cylinder. In the same serial number range as the Chief's special found in the 23xxx-27,xxx range and some up to the 4x,xxx range.
Roy Jinks mentions a Chief's Special Airweight Target in his 1977 (appx 1977) publication of the History of S&W. I found a Chief's Special Airweight Target, which is clearly a master gunsmith or factory conversion in the lower 100,xxx range using S&W CST front sight blade and rear target sight. It is THE only one I every saw. I still have it, hoping one day it will be blessed by the powers that be. It letters only as a standard Chief's Special Airweight with no special comments. When I found it I paid a fair value of an Airweight. The seller did not suggest it was anything odd or special and was not selling it on the premise that it was an Airweight Target.
It was not until the 1960s that the Model 50 designation was assigned to the steel frame Chief Special Target, however it was not used nor marked as such until the run of the Model 50's somewhere in the mid to late 1970s just for that one batch and never seen Model 50 designation after that.
See Joe Cebulls post here:
Model 50
Chief's Special Targets produced in the 1959 to late 1960s are found as Model 36 designation.
and as Forrest Gump would say "and that's all I got to say about that".
