Hi everyone, first post here as well. I picked up this Victory a couple weeks ago for $200, and I'm hoping you guys can tell me a little bit about its origins. After looking through this thread for a while, it seems to be a bit of an oddball.

It's a .38 special, 5 inch barrel, with what looks to be the remains of a blued finish. From what I've gathered, it's probably not original, but it certainly looks old. It has the following markings:

"V 42742" on the butt, possibly preceded by an "R."

"V 42742" on the underside of the barrel.

"UNITED STATES PROPERTY" on the topstrap, with maybe a faint mark to the right.

"P 93191" on the inside of the frame in front of the cylinder.

".38 SPL" on the right side of the barrel.

"948053" on the cylinder.

"57087" on the cylinder arm.

The grips are not serialized, and, given their condition, I image they're replacements.

The right side of the gun appears to be the victim of some sort of aggressive solvent, there's no finish and some light pitting. The S&W crest is almost completely gone.

Any information on this gun would be greatly appreciated! I'm especially curious about the caliber markings, as they seem a bit out of the ordinary. .38 special cases fit just fine.

I've attached some images, if for whatever reason that doesn't work, I've uploaded an album here.