K-22 Masterpiece or Model 17???

B

Bluegoosesports

Member
Joined
Dec 15, 2021
Messages
5
Reaction score
6
I have a SW that shows Model 17 inside the yolk but I am confused by the serial number that makes me think it is a K22 pre model 17. The serial number is K347223. Information that I have gathered puts it at 1958, but the blue book shows it only going to 1957. The Model 17 description puts it manufactured at 1992. Please help.
 

Attachments

  • sw17.jpg
    sw17.jpg
    103.5 KB · Views: 184
The SN places it at 1958 production which is exactly around the time where Smith & Wesson began to assign model numbers.

Your picture doesn't help me at all, it's too small.

If it says Model 17, then it is a Model 17 no-dash. It is also a K-22.

I'm not sure what reference brought 1992 in to this discussion, but 1992 has nothing to do with this one.

It looks nice!
 
Thanks

Thanks so much. So when I am putting a value on it should I be using: K-22 MASTERPIECE (POST WAR K-22 3rd MODEL)? Thanks again.
 
SCSW says the Third Model nomenclature is for pre-1957.

I'd call it a Model 17 no-dash from 1958. However it is well established that there are dozens of folks that are far better at this part of the game than I am! :D
 
All of the 22 revolvers built on S&W's medium or "K" frame can be legitimately referred to as "K22s", a designation that was never actually stamped on the gun itself. OTOH, after about 1957 they were also given the Model 17 (or -1, -2, etc) which was usually stamped inside the yoke. (It's too hard to stamp inside a YOLK because it's liquid! ;) )

Regardless, what you have there is a well made accurate revolver that shoots the affordable and easily obtained 22 long rifle ammo. It's a good target revolver in its own right, and a useful understudy for its centerfire siblings. Are you putting a value on it to sell it, or just to know what you have?

Froggie

PS BTW, Bluegoosesports, welcome to the S&W Forum. You can find just about anything you want to know about Smiths here. :)
 
Thanks Froggie. I am quite pleased with all the information I have received. The knowledge on here is priceless. We took in a quite large estate recently (170ish pieces) and there are a few that we are needing help with. This particular revolver is in excellent shape and I have priced it toward the top of the BB valuation. This estate has everything from old Winchesters, Smiths, Colts, lots of great clean pieces. Thanks again for all the help.
 
Bluegoosesports

The lowest serial number we know of on a K-22 that is marked as Model 17 is K326533. It shipped in November, 1958.

Yours may have shipped in 1958, but it was near the end of the serial range for production that year, so it could have shipped in 1959. Only a letter can tell you for sure.
 
All S & W revolvers were/are named. After 1957 or so they were also assigned a model number. So all 6" barreled, blued K frame .22 LR click adjustable rear sight revolvers are K-22 Masterpieces, but this one is more easily called a model 17 "no dash".
 
Last edited:
The Masterpiece moniker did not disappear for some time after the Model 17 was named. I have a 1958 price list that names the revolver a K22 Masterpiece Model 17. If you look at Supica & Nahas book Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson, you will find the name Model 17, K-22 Masterpiece.

Early Model 17 boxes were labeled as shown below along with the instruction sheet, so I guess that was the name given that era K-22 in the late 1950s. Even in 1965, the same name was used for the revolver.

attachment.php

attachment.php

attachment.php
 

Attachments

  • iDBlRxI.jpg
    iDBlRxI.jpg
    90.7 KB · Views: 350
  • s-l1600 (1).jpg
    s-l1600 (1).jpg
    52.6 KB · Views: 353
  • 1965 King For Price, Inc.jpg
    1965 King For Price, Inc.jpg
    78.6 KB · Views: 358
Sevens said:
Hmmm, please don’t take this as any manner of an insult. This is genuine assistance.

The “BB.” The Blue Book? Probably not the way to go in the modern gun trade.
Click to expand...

I second Sevens view that the BB is no longer a reliable guide. I dropped my subscription three years ago because it had become unreliable in the age of online auctions where the goal post is constantly in motion. You just can't predict that with a once-a-year formulaic rehash. A gun broker price report will put you on better footing.
 
Gary

In the 1970s and at least the early 1980s, it was still the K-38 Masterpiece Model 14, and the same thing for the K-22. By then, of course, they were using paper labels on the box end, but the spec sheet inside still used the name as well as the model number.

Here is one that shipped in July, 1980 (a Model 14-4). I bought it new and everything you see in the picture was in the box when I purchased it.
jp-ak-albums-k-frame-target-revolvers-picture8336-model-14-4-nib-box.jpg


This one is a 14-2 that shipped in 1967, also ANIB (except in this picture, it is wearing prewar Magna stocks.
jp-ak-albums-k-frame-target-revolvers-picture8382-model-14-2-box-tools-shipped-1967-a.jpg
 
JP@AK said:
Bluegoosesports

The lowest serial number we know of on a K-22 that is marked as Model 17 is K326533. It shipped in November, 1958.

Yours may have shipped in 1958, but it was near the end of the serial range for production that year, so it could have shipped in 1959. Only a letter can tell you for sure.
Click to expand...

interesting, I have K328116 and it is not marked as a model 17
 
4speed said:
I have K328116 and it is not marked as a model 17
Click to expand...
Yes. They were not entirely consistent. It depended on when the frame came down the line. We often speak about the fact that revolvers were not shipped in serial order, but they were not assembled in order either.

Here's another data point: K327346 is a model-marked K-22 Model 17. It shipped in June, 1958.
 
One final word on the Blue Book------and fishing tackle.

Some folks will tell you fishing tackle is made to catch fish. The folks who know better will tell you it's made to sell to fishermen.

So it is with the Blue Book, which is published to sell to folks who don't know any better. I had one once-------------a loooooooooong time ago.

Ralph Tremaine
 
Well c'mon, let's be fair! First, the classic "Blue Book of Gun Values" is absolutely bursting with information, that should be duly noted. One of my favorite parts is that it lists the last known MSRP, which can or at least should be somewhat helpful when you are trying to determine the relative value of a firearm.

Secondly, the heyday of the Blue Book was long before the electronic gun trade. And for that reason alone, the Blue Book gets a cornerstone spot in the Hall of Fame.

The Blue Book simply isn't all too relevant in today's world, but this is a fairly recent development when we consider for how long guys have been buying and selling guns.
 
With apologies for more thread drift, the "Blue Book" does have some utility in listing variations within basic model lines, and dates of production. (One wonders if they are correct, but they can be a guide for further research.) The "Blue Book" has almost no value for market values.
 
I guess I'll have to be the first to say that original matching serial number stocks have a determination in the value. The ones in your only picture, while nice, are not original to a Model 17.
 
MrG5122 said:
I guess I'll have to be the first to say that original matching serial number stocks have a determination in the value. The ones in your only picture, while nice, are not original to a Model 17.
Click to expand...

Why do you say that? They look like regular Magnas to me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

J
K-22 Masterpiece Info
Replies
5
Views
286
JP@AK
JP@AK
DARE
K-22 Masterpiece Letter
Replies
5
Views
639
Valmet
Valmet
DARE
K-22 Masterpiece
2
Replies
20
Views
954
kscharlie
kscharlie
DARE
K-22 Masterpiece 1949
2 3
Replies
42
Views
3K
Truckman
Truckman
Retired W4
It's Here, K-32 Masterpiece
Replies
19
Views
1K
Cities n Dust
C

Latest posts

Back
Top