NIB Model 29 with everything, just like the day it left Springfield in 1960. Invoice from Union Hardware & Metal Company, 5555 Ferguson Drive, Los Angeles, CA, shows billing date of 8/15/60, sold to Hughes Sales, 1907 E. 7th St., LA, CA. Prices are as follows:

PISTOL 44 MAGNUM S196381 Suggested Retail: $140.00/ Unit Price: $113.72
CARTRIDGE 44 MAGNUM 44MP Suggested Retail: $15.50/ Unit Price: $11.80 (Invoice is difficult to decipher, but it appears this may have been the price for two boxes, making the cost $5.90 a box)

One word....WOW!

Please tell us the history of the last 50 years!

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S&WCA # 2045

I'll take it for the prices listed. Where do I mail the check? Damn thats nice! How about the rest of the story.

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Jim
SWCA #2246

Howq beautiful! i'd go Bravastar1 one better, and pay 10X the price it sold for. Grail gun! Heck, the grips alone are a holy grail!

Very, very nice....Congratulations......What a find!

Union Hardware & Metal Company's telephone number is listed on the invoice as RAymond 3-2411. No, don't call, they won't have any more at that price because they went out of business in the early 60s.

I can't really tell you much about this 29. I purchased it 15 or so years ago, and yes, I paid a little more than $113.72.

Best regards,

Jim

Wow, That is one fine revolver and you did really outstanding.

Jim...very nice Model 29 with all of the accessories and rare cardboard box. I have one shipped in November 1960 that is in the newer type cardboard box that is taped down the middle. It has the serial number, finish, and barrel length written in black grease pencil on the box just like yours. Within a year or two S&W started to use the sticker on the end of the shipping case.

Bill

Jim, what a great 44 Mag package.! It's nice to see one all together every once in a great while.
Chuck

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SWCA1517 SWHF256
Rangers LTW!

My Gawd! What a perfect, perfect gun. Congrats on owning such a treasure.

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John

What a great package. That is one time capsule that I would like to have!
Congratulations.

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Miss My Buddy crsides!!

Wow,just wow! I shoot everything I have but that one would be the exception.

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Stay safe people!

Are those Cokes or diamond targets on a 1960 gun?

Gotta love a old NIB'er!

GF

That is spectacular!!!!!!!

I lucked into a box of that ammo at Tulsa a few shows ago and it helped complete a package for me.



This one isn't new though it is close.

Amazing. Great picture. Thanks much for sharing a bit of history.

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Infected by Smith&Wesson

great history, thanks for sharing.

Looks like Cokes to me.

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Miss My Buddy crsides!!

I have a .44 special 1950 target that also was shipped to union hardware on january 17th 1955.

That is a real bit of History you have there, and a lovely gun I would hate to own. Because sooner or later I know I couldn't resist shooting it and a time capsule like that should really be left undisturbed.

I also noted the cost of that 44 mag ammo. Next time I think about complaining about ammo costs I'll have to remember that box of ammo was priced in 1960 dollars, not 2010 dollars. BTW, according to one inflation calculator I found using Google, that was an 87 dollar box of ammo in 2010 dollars.

NEAT-O!! Look like some thing you would see in the National Firearms Museum.

When I saw your inflated 2010 price of $87, l went back and checked the invoice a little closer. It's a little difficult to decipher, but it appears that there may have been two boxes sold for $11.80, or $5.90 a box. Perhaps someone with a Western catalog and price list dated around 1960 can chime in with the printed wholesale/retail price of a box of 50 Western Super X 44MP cost?

Per this inflation calculator, Inflation Calculator | Find US Dollar's Value from 1913-2010 , a $5.90 box of ammo in 1960 would cost $43.20 today. The gun, priced at $113.72 in 1960 would come in at $832.70 today. Sounds like a bargain.

Det. Harry Callahan (the movie...) would be misty eyed with nostalgia over this revolver, because you "Got lucky"!

Man oh man! What a true beauty. Congrats on a great find. Are these Smith things not stunningly beautiful????

JD

Very nice firearm...I don't think I could keep from shooting it that long.

One question...what do you do to protect it? Noticed it was still wrapped in the wax paper...do you just pull it out and wipe it down with oil every month or what?!

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SHOOTER13

Wow, how cool to see such a gun in the condition it's in..."LUCKY"... thanx for sharing!

Great question - First of all, I placed the Model 29 back in its original clamshell case only for the photograph. I would never store it in the case! It normally resides on a plate glass shelf (not carpet) in a temperature and humidity controlled safe monitored by a thermo-hygrometer.

The late, great, Ray Cheely suggested many years ago that I replace my carpeted shelves with plate glass. He was a prominent S&W collector, having accumulated one of the world's greatest collections of Registered Magnums, and a trusted advisor to all who sought his knowledge. I took Ray's suggestion, and now all my safes have shelves of plate glass, which do not attract moisture or retain dust and grime like carpeted surfaces do.

Other suggestion that I've adopted from sage collectors like Ray and a curator at the firearms museum in Cody,Wyoming, include:

* Use a Golden Rod. It does not reduce humidity, it regulates temperature to stop condensation. When using a Goldenrod (or similar heat rod), it's more important for the temperature to be slightly higher in the safe that the outside, as that keeps moisture from condensing on the guns.
*Don't handle firearms without wearing clean, white cotton gloves. They aren't very expensive, and I normally buy ten or twelve dozen at a time. Fingerprints left on blue steel breed oxidation, and if you do pick up a firearm barehanded, make sure it is wiped down well before storage.
* Dust firearms using a very soft bristle brush and clean stocks (wood) with a light application of mineral spirits and quickly wipe dry with a clean, soft, white cloth. Apply a coat of Renaissance® wax (oil/grease attract dust) to all firearm, as well as wood surfaces (under stocks also), buff the wax with the same type of cloth aforementioned, leaving a light film of wax to protect the surfaces. I treat all stored firearms to two coat of Renaissance.
*Treat all bores and cylinder charge holes to a coat of Rig Grease.
*Store firearms at relative humidity levels between 35 and 45%, and at temperatures between 60 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Avoid subjecting firearms to temperature and humidity extremes. Check your safe's thermo-hygrometer reading every time you open it.
*If your safe is located in a basement, purchase a dehumidifer. They are relatively cheap, and will help protect your collection.

Finally, I try to inspect each piece in my collection at least once annually, examining X number each month. I live in high humidity Kansas and using the aforementioned procedures, have never had a problem. Sorry for being so windy. Hope I've been of some help.

SRT:
Pursuant to your earlier request for a price of 1960 ammo, I have checked with a Western price list catalog for ammo, effective January 3, 1961, the suggested retail price for a box was $8.10 but the price per thousand for preferred wholesale customers equated to $6.10 per box. This is the yellow catalog with the red Super X on the cover, not unlike the ammo boxes of the same era. Sorry it took me so long to reply. I misplaced the book.
Ed

+1 and one more "WOW" for good measure... I missed this post the 1st time around, so very glad that it popped up to the top again.

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Richard
Engraved S&W fan

I missed it too, but it's great to see it now. Great looking gun and accessories. Thanks for showing us. I have one close to it (in serial number) so I think I will get it out and have a look. It has been a while.

Pretty impressive-- to say the least! Pete

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NRA LIFE 1974

What good is it.You can't scratch it.you can't ding the stocks.You can't shoot it.All you can do is look at it. Here is a box of 1960's vintage 38 super priced at 6.40DSC_0008.jpg

Fantastic! Thanks for sharing, I'm trying not to slobber all over my keyboard.

Excellent all around.

The tips on storage are very important info and saved for future reference.

Thanks for sharing.

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Have guns...will shoot'em.

I'll take them!! Just tell me where to send my $6.40 USPS money order.

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Miss My Buddy crsides!!

And after all those years nobody ate the dessicant.

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