Hi guys,
I am not a gun collector, newbie to this board. Have a couple of old family guns that have been passed down to me and just trying to determine the age and possible value.

The pistol I have (see the pictures) is a Smith & Wesson 38S CTG Special, SN # 305396. It is chrome with original walnut stocks. The pistol has a 5" barrel. The cylinder serial number and the butt both match but it does have a small marking on the barrel, appears to look like an "hour glass" with an "I" or 1 after it.

Barrel (on flat side, bottom) is numbered 289484. From what I have read on some boards, does this mean the gun has been serviced by Smith and Wesson (or simply replaced by a gunsmith) since not all the serial numbers are the same?

Any help with age and the approximate value (based on the pictures) would be much appreciated. I really don't have any interest in selling it, just trying to determine the history.

Thank you all,
Pistol Rookie

* If I have posted this to the wrong location someone please let me know. I registered but cannot find the correct link to post the question and the pictures. (Thank You).

Attached Images

IMG_0713.jpg (43.4 KB, 125 views)

I am hardly an expert, but it looks like a Model 1905, 4th Change. It would be nickel and not chrome in all probability. The serial number should be the one on the butt. At that time the 5" tube was, I believe, slightly more common than a 4" one so it is possibly original. I am sure someone with more expertise than me will be able to give you more full information.

Looks to be a pre-war M&P (Model 1905, 4th Change) as has been stated.

I'd be interested in seeing the other side, does it say "Made in U.S.A."

The catalog list that serial number between 1915 and 1942, the "Made in U.S.A." was added in 1922. I have one, 5411xx which is guesstimated to be 1927, so yours is earlier.

The trigger looks plated or polished, that usually indicates a re-finish as the factory the hammer and trigger were case hardened. That may have been when the barrel was changed. The stocks look correct for that vintage.

I'm sure someone with more expertise than me will be along shortly.

Nice piece,I like the early M&Ps

__________________
SWCA #2817

Looks 6" to me. Measure from cylinder face to muzzle.

May have been nickel originally, but surely refinished as trigger is plated.

__________________
No life story has happy end.

It looks like it might well be chrome plated. Chrome has more of a bluish-ice tint to it.
Nickel is more yellow in color. The two have to be side by side to easily notice the
difference.

The factory did chrome-plate a small handful of .38 M&P's . They were in the 600,000
serial number range, and I owned two of them, at one time. They were experimental,
and done in the early 1950's .

With the gun in hand, you can take it outside and hold it up against some part of a
car that is chrome plated, like an earlier bumper, or window trim, or door trim.

Mike Priwer

I think SaxonPig is correct. The barrel looks to be 6" not 5".
Also, the fact that the serial number on the barrel flat differs from the butt indicates a barrel change was made, and probably not by the factory.
The frame number, 305396, would put the gun's vintage at around 1919, possibly 1918. A point of reference is September, 1919, when heat treatment on the cylinder was first applied at serial number 316648.
It will not have Made in U.S.A. on the right side. That was not added until 1922.
The number on the barrel is somewhat earlier, very likely just after S&W regained control of production after WWI (the government took over the factory for a time to ensure war production quotas were met - at least that was Wilson's excuse).
The stocks are also not original. That style didn't come along until 1920. When your frame left the factory, the stocks still had a recessed medallion that was made of brass with a light gold wash on it.
Your revolver has been refinished and the value is therefore somewhere around $275 at best.

__________________
Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318

SN 305396 would place probable shipping in the summer of 1919. I show a very close but slightly higher SN as shipping in late July 1919. As noted heat treating began at SN 316648 in September 1919, so that is always a good dating guidepost. It's almost certain the barrel is a replacement. Stocks are also from a little later period, as that style was used throughout the 1920s. Decorative chrome plating did not become mainstream until the early 1930s when it started to be used on a large scale in the automobile industry. Prior to that, most decorative plated items were nickeled.

Guys,
I wanted to say thank you for taking time to reply to my original post. Yes, as you can tell I am a novice and certainly no collector like many of you.

The barrel is in fact 6" measured from the cylinder to end of the barrel, not 5" as I had told you. This S&W 38 likely belonged to either my Great Uncle or Grandfather on my maternal side. Both served in WWI, one of them in the Army, the other as an officer in the Navy.

One of you guys mentioned M&P so I assume you mean Military and Police issue (correct me if I am wrong). Is it possible this pistol was a WWI issue?

Again, thank you as I really appreciate your time and learning from your knowledge.

M&Ps were not military issue in the U. S. military until WWII. The WWII "Victory" model (1942-1945) was an M&P. There were 2000 early K-frame revolvers purchased by the Army and the Navy in 1900-1901, and that was it until WWII. However, many soldiers took their personal handguns along into WWI, WWII, and Korea, and sometimes even to Vietnam. Not so much now. Therefore it's highly unlikely yours would have been "Military Issue" during WWI. And also because it wasn't even made until after WWI.

looking for help on ifo on my 38 s&w spl model 36 with butt serial number 564398, stamped on inside by cylinder is 15742 T L, this revolver came with origonal box and paperwork.i would appriciate any and all info/help, i am new to s&w.
Thank You

fpb3 -
Welcome to the forum - The grips (stocks) are probably not original. SN 313625 has the recessed gold medallions as Jack mentioned, however that doesn't mean grips aren't valuable on their own. They are getting harder to find and can run from $40 to much higher for nice ones.
Since it was refinished the value isn't great for collectors and there were literally millions made over the years. Enjoy!

Rick