I'm looking at a, what I think is a victory, revolver but I think if it has no v prefix it is not a victory revolver. Right? But is is chambered in 38 special and the top strap has A flaming bomb along with US Property GHD stamped on top strap. Serial no is 5868xx.
Please let me know what I have. Selling asking 400 obo

Thanks

Does the serial number you provided appear on the bottom of the grip frame, under the barrel and on the back of the cylinder? A Victory marked as US Property GHD will typically have a serial number that begins with a V.

Hope this helps.

Steve

No Steve. It has lanyard ring, us property marked strap, flaming bomb top strap, but no V prefix to serial number

That is a very odd serial number not to have a V-prefix. It would put the gun in the very late 1920s, I think, which is too early for a pre-Victory.

Please describe the gun further. Barrel length, type of stocks, type of finish, and check the other serial locations as Steve asked.

PS: Are you absolutely positive the first digit is a 5?

Here are the pictures. Thanks for any assistance.

Model 10 Slideshow by kc-130nav | Photobucket

Thanks for the photos. It certainly has all of the features of a standard Victory model. Is it possible that the V of the serial number is under the lanyard ring? In some cases the V is spaced on the other side of the ring. If there is no V at all it is certainly odd.

Steve

I think the V is covered by the ring.

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No life story has happy end.

Just confirmed with the seller, there is no V

Where the cylinder swings out there is a 4 digit number with a S below the number.

look on the bottom of bbl,back of cyl,see if it has the v prefix

It is possible it missed the V stamp; over 800,000 were produced in about 3 years so minor details may have been skipped, but it would be the first one I have ever seen that was supposed to have the V stamp but did not. My guess is the seller didn't look or it was ground off .

An unaltered original VM in good condition is well worth $400 in any case.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

I agree with the others. In respect to the finish and everything else it looks like a standard US version of the Victory, and as I said above, the serial without a V cannot under any circumstances be the correct serial.

The surface texture under the finish is such that I have no doubt at all that the phosphate finish is original and a grounding-off of the V would be clearly identifiable.

The assembly number in the yoke is not helpful. The seller needs to check on the cylinder face and on the flat underside of the barrel.

Call me sceptical, but until I see pictures with the swivel turned the other way and of these areas showing the number without the V-prefix, I simply don't believe your seller. If he produces such pictures, I'll be happy to apologize, and we can post those pictures in the SWCA members section and ask Roy Jinks how that could happen.

I contacted the seller and he is going to forward pictures of the underside of the barrel as well as the cylinder. I will post to thread when received. Thanks to all.

One thing Victory collectors need to learn early on is that "there are no rules" Strange anomalies occur constantly, which is one of the reasons why Victory collecting can be lots of fun. Victories that should not exist, but do, happen more often than you would expect. Getting a shooter out the door in WW2 was the goal. If a gun missed a stamping, due to a broken die or skipped stamp - no problem - just ship it. This Forum is full of postings about a Victory Model that has questions - which is great, as the answers are going to come from Victory experts found no where else. Ed.

Well, once again, you guys are some knowledgeable folks. It is in fact marked with a V (it was covered by lanyard ring)

New pictures here

Model 10 Slideshow by kc-130nav | Photobucket

Aha. Now it all fits.

So what you have there now is a standard military-shipped US Victory model from about late spring/early summer 1944. It has all expected markings including P proofs (I can only see the one on the left frame, but the other two can be assumed to be present also). The finish is definitely original and looks to show quite a bit of use wear, but to be in good shape overall. If you want to be sure the gun is all-matching, you can ask the seller if the numbers on cylinder, back of extractor star, and right grip panel match the butt. For $400, they really should. In general, that price is not a super deal for this gun, but quite acceptable.

OK I have changed my mind. They forgot to stamp the V on the butt.

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No life story has happy end.

If the SN's on the cylinder and extractor match then I think $400 is a very good price for that gun...especially if it's a private seller with no sales tax or background fee.

Perhaps I came late to the thread but all of the photos that I looked at clearly show a V prefix under the barrel and on the butt. Remember that the V prefix does not have to immediately precede the numbers. Many times, even on K or S prefix serial numbers, there is a space between the letter and the numbers. On cylinders, many times the letter is separated from the numbers by one of the charge holes.

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James Redfield
LM #497

We played a guessing game specifically because the early pictures did NOT show the V, the seller told the OP there was no V, and the only photo then available had the swivel exactly covering the V on the butt, as Sherlock SP correctly surmised . What you're looking at now are photos added after we all had our fun.

Absalom and SP:

How does it feel to be Omniscient??? You guys amaze me. Good job!!!

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

$400-500 is fair !

Met the seller and picked it up yesterday. Thanks again for all of yall's help