My local auction just sold a 4-inch Highway Patrolman sn 99XXX with Magna stocks, and lanyard ring. Condition was good to very good. I missed it by about 20 minutes due to traffic. Hammer price was $400, which seems cheap to me. Comments, please?

Serial number is too early, is that S prefix? Here is a post on the HP's:

The ultimate Highway Patrolman thread.including N frame ser# ranges

Also I have never seen or heard of a HP with a lanyard ring, but there could be some.

There was no 'S' prefix, and the number was clearly stamped as

99
XXX

and arranged on two lines on the bottom of the frame. Below the SN was the lanyard (same as on the model 26-1 made for the Georgia Highway Patrol).

Needless to say I was mightily annoyed that I didn't arrive in time to buy the gun.

I have never seen a two line stamped serial number. Perhaps to get around the lanyard swivel? (just because I have never seen it, doesn't mean much) It almosr sounds like you are describing a Colt 1917 with the two line Govt model stamped on the butt.

I agree there is something funny about the gun you describe. The S&W 1917s also had two-line serial numbers on the butt. I wonder if someone took a 1917 frame with Army markings polished off, then added a 4" HP barrel and cylinder to it.

If there were any pictures of this gun, could you post them?

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David Wilson

Here's the link to the only photo (it is on PAGE 2):

http://www.greenvalleyauctions.com/A...11August12.asp

I'll try to post the individual photo, which I have saved to my laptop.

I doubt this is a re-worked 1917 frame as the lanyard ring isn't centered, but is rather at the heel of the frame (see the model 26-1 on pg 194 SCS&W for similar placement).

I'll call in at the auctioneers on Monday and see if they will forward a letter to the new owner so that I can get more photos.

OK, I see item E1 and believe it is represented by photo 66, which is the first revolver pictured on page 2. I don't see the lanyard loop, but I agree that is a postwar frame. I also agree that a lanyard loop on a gun of this apparent vintage would probably have been a non-factory installation.

E1 is identified as a Model 28-2, which means the gun should date no earlier than 1961. If those are the original grips, the lack of a diamond around the escutcheon means the gun cannot be earlier than 1968. I don't understand the serial number at all, because that gun should bear a number starting with an N followed by a variable number of digits or an S followed by six digits.

Leaving aside the question of the number, I'd say $400 is a good price for a slightly worn 28-2, but not a spectacular price. Not that I am an expert on 28s, but I would think $450 or so is a fair price for that one. With the visible wear, a price of $500 or north would make me walk away. At $500, you are not far from the border of Model 27 territory, and I would take one of those in preference to a 28 almost any day of the week.

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David Wilson

I'd pretty much agree with you as to price; my absentee bid was $375, and had I been in the room I probably would have gone to $450 because of the odd SN and the lanyard ring (removed, but attached to the tag). Although listed as a 28-2, the frame was not so marked (most of the guns were from a single estate, and several were mis-identified). All-in-all quite a conundrum.

My guess is that the auction house was using the assembly number as the serial number. Happens all the time by folks not familiar with S&W serial number locations. The HP was produced starting 1954 and had an "S" prefix serial number. Became the model 28 around 1957 when the government required all firearms to have a model number. The 28-2 (second engineering change) happened around 1961 with the change of the cylinder stop and the subsequent elimination of the screw in the trigger guard. Diamond stocks went away in 1968 and "N" prefix serial numbers started the next year in 1969. The 28-3 (third engineering change) happened in 1982 and eliminated the pinned barrel and recessed chambers. Model 28 was discontinued in 1986.

PS: In looking at the photos again, the first gun with the wood stocks does not appear to have a satin finish like a HP should. The second photo (I believe that the hang tag says E2) does appear to have a dull satin finish and is wearing rubbers.

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James Redfield
LM #497

The first gun did have a dull-- very dull-- blue finish. The second gun (a Model 19) was refinished with what appeared to be some sort of "parkerized" finish, or perhaps it had been sandblasted prior to being blued. It went out the door for $250 which struck me as okay for a trail gun/shooter.