I have a S&W HP 357 CTG 6" barrel Nickel finish serial # N105539

Looking for help with the year made and opinions on the authenticity of the nickel finish.

I want to sell it, what's it worth?

Attached Images

SW 357.jpg (190.4 KB, 252 views)

The Catalog puts it's DOB in 1972.
I don't think that is a factory finish. The hammer and trigger look like they are nickled too.
Value of a blued one in good shape would be north of $500.
That one will be worth less unfortunately.
Jim

Yes the entire gun is nickel (trigger and hammer & sights). The nickel is coming off the rear sight and you can see blue.

Can the nickel be removed and return this to a blue finish?

Whats a fair price for this gun as it sits?

No collector value but, I'd be surprised if this wasn't a good shooter. Prices on Model 28's are all over the place. $350-$550 would be the range that I would guess.

I would say in the $400 range as a nice N Frame shooter.

I bought a nickel 28-2 a few years back. The nickel finish brought the value down so I could afford it. It's a great shooter. I think I paid less than 300 bucks for it. If you're into guns I would keep it!

You'll regret selling it.

Mark my words.

I have a Plain Jane 28-2 that I am going to make sure gets buried with me.

As others will note, no, the nickel finish isn't factory. I suppose it's possible it might have been part of some special order group of revolvers, but unless it's uniquely marked , that doesn't seem likely. You can have the nickel finish removed and have it reblued, but either way, it's lost any collector's value it may have had, and it doesn't sound as if you're interested in spending any more money on it.

I personally wouldn't buy a nickled 28, though, but if I were just considering it, I wouldn't go over $400 for it. It's a shame someone ruined it by nickeling it.

You don't mention what you paid for it, but I'd be surprised if you got your money back out of it.

EDIT: Are you sure that's nickel? Looks awfully dull and flat for nickel, unless you just photographed it in poor light. Looks more like some kind of bead blast or cerakote type finish.

You are correct, I probably mis-spoke. It's a matte silver finish looks a lot like cerakote (although I am no expert).

To your other question -- I paid $250 for it.

Maybe, I just don't like the gun and I never carry or shoot it. I might feel differently if it was blue and 4".

I'd be willing to bet that is some form of hard chrome rather than a nickel finish. Nickel tends to have a slight yellow cast to it but this is the blue/white of hard chrome.

As other's have said, probably makes it a great shooter and would be durable for hard use. Value is questionable but with 28s going for what seem ridiculous prices it's probably worth at least $450 (or more) just as a shooter.

Good luck with your sale of the gun,
Dave

__________________
RSVN '69-'71
PCSD (Ret)

for 250, keep it and shoot it. It would be a perfect truck gun!

__________________
Even older, even crankier....

All 28s are Plain Janes, and in my opinion, that's one of the things that's making them so popular now, and one of the things that's driving the price for one up and up.

They're the exact same gun as the much-vaunted Model 27, just without the pretty boy finish and the fancy pattern down the sight plane. Oh, and you couldn't get one in nickel or with a red ramp front sight. But who needs all those fancy doodads, anyway. You want a gun that'll put a .357 or .38 Special where you want it to go, the 28 is your gun.

You can get a good 28-2 for about half the price of a good 27, although that seems to be rapidly changing. They shoot just as well, and carry equally as well in whatever holster you choose.

I'm putting a fund together for a big gun show here in August (you know, one of those shows that I said I need to stop attending?), because I'm hoping there'll be some nice 28s there. I plan on coming away with at least one of them.

I'd love to stumble across a 5-screw pre-28 of either barrel length. Wouldn't care what kind of shape it's in...I see it, it's mine.

Plain Jane? Sure. The 28 is like that mousy-looking girl who wears thick glasses, can't keep her hair in place, and wears cheap cotton dresses from K-Mart. You get her some contacts, a new hairdo, and some hip-trendy clothes, and wow!...all of a sudden you're the envy of all the other guys at the party.

I worked commercial security in the Chicago suburbs from 1975-77. I remember one of our field supervisors bought a new six inch Model 28 and the first thing he did was have it bright nickel plated. So it's not unusual to see some nickeled Model 28s around. Another finish that was popular at that time was Armoloy, which looks very similar to the finish on you gun. I had a Colt Python, S&W Model 36, and a Browning Hi Power refinished in Armoloy; unfortunately, all of those guns are long gone for other interests.

Well, I wasn't meaning to pry about what you paid for it, but now that I see the figure, yeah, you probably can turn a profit on it, though I don't know about $450.

Regarding the hammer, sights, and trigger being the same finish, most competent smiths don't do that...they usually leave those components as they originally were, or they'll re-case harden and reblue the sights. But who knows? Maybe the previous owner wanted it done that way. If you're a smith, you do what the customer wants.

No worries. An earlier poster mentioned using it as a truck gun, that might make sense, I have a ton of 357 ammo too so I suppose I could use it as a utility gun in the truck. We'll see.

Where and when in NC?

I may be in NC this summer for some meetings, and I might be able to swing by.

$250?? That's way below Model 10 prices. I would keep that thing and shoot it. My favorite 28-2 is not real pretty, it has a lot of wear to the finish, but the thing is a pleasure to shoot. I won't live long enough to even come close to wearing it out.

Keep it! You got a good deal on a N framed 357. You will not find another 28 for that price unless it is in real bad shape. This is the type of gun that you do not care if you scratch or accidentally drop. It is worth more if you keep it than you were to sell it. If you want to buy a nice 28 then go for it but I would highly recommend keeping it.

James

Since we don't really know what the finish is, we don't know how difficult it would be to remove, except that it is already "flaking" on the sights and blue finish can be seen in the flaking area. If it was my gun (and I only had $250 in it) I would certainly look into having the sights cleared of this finish. If it could be done without buffing I'd have the hammer and trigger done, too. Then I would use it to disassemble all of the .357 ammo, reassemble and repeat.

__________________
I need ammo, not a ride.

I would have paid $250 for it. The way I think if it did not fit in with my other smiths. I could always flip it and make $50 to $100 on it.

The gun show?

August 16-17, which will be on a Saturday and Sunday.

Here is a link to it, which shows directions how to get there and also the dates of the other two shows before the end of the year.

They usually have three buildings, but so many new vendors showed up at the show in April, they had to open up more space. Parking's free, and they'll usually have an online coupon that you can print out and get a dollar off admission.

I think the shows have gotten a bit better...they're spaced out more during the year. Sure, there's a lot of junk there, too...but it's still fun. Lots of junk food to nibble on, too.