After many. many years absence, S&W finally came out with an N frame in a caliber many had only dreamed about. The 125th Anniversary Commemorative Mod. 25-3 in 45 Long Colt was born.
They came in a beautiful special presentation case, the very deep bright blue of their era, had special branding, special smooth Goncalo Alves grips with commemorative cuts, still had a 6 1/2" pinned barrel, a commemorative medal, and included the great Roy Jinks hard cover book on S&W history, all for a retail price of $350.00
I, like many other serious S&W collectors during that time frame (1977) scrambled to buy these fabulous new offerings from S&W. I wanted a shooter and a NIB for my collection. Soon after making those two purchases I came across a NIB consecutively numbered pair that I couldn't turn down... Still have all 4 them all!
Many people dislike the idea of commemorative guns because they believe they are just too pretty to shoot. I can sympathize with that opinion because they are one of the most beautiful handguns ever produced by S&W. I know several people, including myself, who do shoot them and use them for their original intent..
25-3's that were shot got a "bad wrap" early because many, like other Mod 25-2's apparently of their era, were manufactured with over-sized throats.
Because of those claims, the fact that 10,000 of these guns were made, the resistance to buy this type "pretty" gun as a shooter, the resultant demand and therefore the prices for these guns has not escalated comparably to other models of their era as they should have.
Prices have been all over the board with these beautiful commemorative Mod, 25-3 45 Long Colt's. IMO, these guns continue to be one of the best N frame buys in existence today.
I rarely make value statements. All I would suggest is to compare a NIB 25-3 125th with all the extras to any other model or their basic configuration today and draw your own conclusion.
I think you'll agree... It's the best "bang for the buck" revolver available today...
