Can buy this commemorative for $1500. Not familiar with values on commemoratives so would appreciate some direction. Thanks Louis

Louis...The NCSP commemorative was made in 1979 and is the first commemorative to be made using the Model 29 (-2). It was available to NCSP officers only and has a NCSP serial number stamped on the frame. It has a nickel finish and 6 1/2-inch barrel. The revolver was accompanied by a special presentation case. I would certainly give $1500 for this commemorative in near mint condition (98 percent or better).

Bill Cross

Bill (Doc44) is correct. They were made for the NC State Highway Patrol's 50th anniversary. Troopers currently serving and honorably retired troopers were eligible to order one. They have regular S&W N frame serial numbers and another number that began with NCHP 0001 and continued through the run. There were about 1100 of them produced. S&W used up all their 6 1/2 inch barrels on these guns and the higher numbered guns have a 6 inch barrel. They have a special display case with the NC Highway Patrol seal engraved on the top. If memory serves they cost a little less than $400 each.

The complete package was an outer cardboard box with the label affixed to it. Inside was a cardboard box with the display case and a silver colored S&W case (silver was used for nickel guns) with the gun inside along with the cleaning kit and sight adjustment tool.

The guns were the first commemorative Model 29 and the first and only guns to employ acid etching for the SHP badge and engraving.

I was employed with a "sister agency" to the NCSHP and our agency sent three groups through the SHP academy along with the troopers. I was in the first group to go through the NCSHP Basic School and our group were the first people ever allowed in the school that were not troopers. They could not openly discriminate; however, they made it plain they did not want us there and tried every way to make us leave. We lost three of ten and they ran 14 SHP cadets off.

While I was there, in August of 1979, the Model 29's came in and were stored at the armory at the academy. We were told that the SHP had information the guns were to be stolen and they had to be guarded, so they made us stand watch over the guns 24/7 for about two weeks. The "rumor" was BS and they just did it to harass us and make us stay awake all night. The troopers in my school were not eligible to order them.

I had an opportunity to buy one a few years ago and got it for a good deal. I've seen them go for as little as $850 for a shooter without the box and over $2000 for NCHP 0001. There is one at a gun shop that I frequent occasionally and it is marked $1399 (if I remember correctly). I have not looked at it but it appears to be ANIB.

Here are some photos of my gun. Its difficult to photograph nickel, but the gun is pristine. The box does have some handling marks.

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Bill

Just my opinion, others have theirs.

This is a whopper of a find for that price. If in really good condition, as Bill stated, a lot of us would ask, "Who do we pay?".

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Rather be outdoors

God, what would I do to find one of those. I've lived in NC all my life, been stopped by my share of NCHP Troopers, and have worked with a former Trooper, oddly enough, from 1979 to a few years later. And a M29 is all I need to finish my little collection of S&W magnum caliber handguns. One of these would be the icing on the cake, and the cherry on top.

Magnificent firearm.

Bill, Thanks for the help finding one like this. I picked up #0835 of the NCHP 50th Anniversary Commemorative M29-2 today. Now I have my four Magnum caliber S&W revolvers (two .357's in a K [M19-3]and N frame [M28-2], a M57 and this M29-2). This particular commemorative has a 6" barrel, so it's on down the line as Bill mentioned above.

The gun itself has some finish issues on the frame, can't tell just yet if it's years of accumulated oxidation and gunk, or whether the finish has been damaged. Trying to get it cleaned up but need some suggestions (later).

The presentation case is almost perfect, has a couple of very slight dents in the wood. The presentation stocks on the gun are pristine, no scratches and glossy finish is intact. Barrel and cylinder finish is VGC, no wear, flaking or scratches. Cylinder has the turn ring from being fired, but the cylinder face and chambers look like the gun has never been fired. Lockup is very tight, action is glass smooth like you'd expect a S&W of this era (1979) to be.

The frame has what looks like crud widespread, either that or the nickel finish is failing, maybe someone tried to clean it with something that damaged the finish. On the side of the gantry you can actually see someone's fingerprint in the crud, so I'm hoping it is crud and not a failing finish. There are dull areas on the back side of the breech wings, inside the trigger guard and on both sides of the frame. I think this gun was used for a while then put away for an extended period in its case.

What would you advise to use that would be strong enough to cut through this stuff but not harm the nickel? I've never owned a nickel gun, all mine have been blued or stainless. I'd like to get this looking as good as Bill's in the pictures above, even if it means sending it back to S&W for a refinish. I also plan to get a letter from S&W for this gun; I'd like to see who initially bought it.

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I saw that gun about two weeks ago, but did not examine it as I am not looking for one. It did look good sitting there in the case.

I would have no problem sending that in for a renickel if it does not clean up, with the nickel being damaged.

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I’m your Boogie Man, uh huh.

Those guns were the first and only guns that S&W used acid etching to reproduce the SHP badge and to do the commemorative script on the barrel.

When the guns were originally shipped to Davidsons in Greensboro (the S&W Distributor) they found a number of the guns to have "ghosting" on the badge. S&W was notified and requested all the guns be sent back to the factory for inspection. Many of the guns had to have the side plate replaced and new acid etched badges applied. S&W discontinued the acid etching process with these guns.

I'm no expert on nickel and how the work was done, but it might be an issue to reproduce the badge and script. I would leave that question to the experts on the forum.

Whenever these guns come up for discussion two reasons that they are sought after are quoted. First that they were the first Model 29 commemoratives and second, they were the first and only guns to employ acid etching.

Looking at the photos (and I'm no expert) it looks like oxidation to me. I think a careful polishing with Flitz or a similar product would help and just might fix the issues. This with the caveat I'm only going by photos.

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Bill

The side plate containing the NCHP shield is in pretty good shape overall, just a hint of something on the left side and up by the hammer. It should clean up nicely without much work.

I've been working on it a good bit of the morning, it's pouring rain outside so nothing else to do anyway. What I've found that's working pretty well, without heading out to shop for something specific, is Meguire's PlastX, clear plastic cleaner and polisher. It's made for the clear headlight lens of a car, so I figured it couldn't hurt a nickel metal finish. It has just enough abrasive to take the crud off with vigorous rubbing, and leaves a great shine after being cleaned off. I rub it in with a 3M buffing pad, which has the same abrasive quality as 4-0 steel wool but is nonmetallic. The two together are making pretty good, if slow, progress. I have the trigger guard, which was one of the worst areas, looking about 95% back to normal. I think the remaining areas will clean up as well or better. It may not return to a 100% gun, but at 41 years of age, 95, or even 90%, would be good enough for me and something I would not be ashamed to drag out of the safe.

I'll definitely shoot it, but I doubt very much, just enough to say I have. I want to compare the recoil to my M57 to see how much (or little) difference there is. When you put them side by side and look at the business end, it's not easy to see the difference in bore size. After all, the .44 Magnum is "only" .430 inches, and the .41 magnum is .410".

Try some Simichrome on a soft cloth (start with a tiny amount, the cloth will turn black quickly but don't add more, just keep rubbing lightly).

I had a nickeled 36 that looked frosted on one side; less than half an hour later you could not tell one side from the other--it looked brand new. Simichrome also takes the burn rings off the cylinder face quickly, and in my experience, safely.

All I can say is, NCHP should have selected the M629 for their commemorative. It came out in 1979, so maybe they already had their order in by the time it was released, but it sure would've saved some owners a lot of grief trying to keep it clean and shiny.

I've rubbed on this one today until my fingers hurt. The polish I used works, but takes a lot of rubbing, I don't think it is quite abrasive enough. I ended up taking some 6-0 steel wool on the side of the gantry. It actually worked really well, and isn't close to being too rough for the finish. It buffed a couple of already shiny parts to a high luster, rapidly cleaned the matte-finish sight rail, and took off some spots the polish just couldn't handle. I'll try the Simichrome, like JC said; I used that stuff 45 years ago to shine my Triumph motorcycle exhaust pipes and it took road grime off easily. It may be slightly more abrasive than the stuff I'm using, but this nickel finish is really hard.

I'll keep at it, and over time I think I can get it back to about 95% of its original finish. I made a group shot of it with my other magnums:

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Have seen a number of those M29 NCSHP commemoratives.
IMO, just find it strange that a revolver model the agency has never had anything to do with was chosen as an official commemorative.

Similar to a really pretty Colt Peacemaker (7.5"), nickeled, and presentation case was a commemorative and marked for the Durham Co. (NC) Sheriff's Office..... Strange.

Have seen 'commemorative' revolvers for my agency - a blued M586 4" and a blued Chiefs Special M36,2". Sideplate with our shield/badge on each.
Thing is - neither of those models have ever been used by the agency - at all.

Just ponderings.....

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Ret'd LEO
SWCA #2275

I'll bet Durham got the idea from the NC State Bureau of Investigation whose 50'th anniversary commemorative was the Colt Model 1873 Single Action Army in .45 Colt with a 4 3/4 inch barrel.

At least the NC SHP did carry S&W revolvers at the time.

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Bill

I doubt that many, if any, agencies in the US would issue a .44 magnum as a duty gun. I think they did it because, in 1979, the M29 was the "baddest" gun there was (not counting some wildcats), and the NCHP was one of, if not THE baddest of state highway patrol agencies. Today, they are the largest highway patrol force in the nation, behind Texas.

Most of the State Troopers I had any dealings with in the late 1970's were carrying either M27's of M28's.

I thought California Highway Patrol was the largest...

No, They're just the prettiest. All that sunshine...ocean air and skin lotion.....

They may be today, the last statistical data I saw was from 2017, which said "NC has some 1600 Troopers who cover 78,000 miles of highway, more than any state except Texas." Although they have jurisdiction anywhere in the state except on federal or military installations, they are not a state police force like many other states have. Their primary mandate is ensuring the safety of highway travel and the motoring public.

You've been watching too many "CHiPS" reruns. Switch over to "Baywatch" for some really great tans.....and other stuff.

Professional appearance has always been a strong point with NCHP. While not a true "state police" they are set up as a paramilitary force, so the uniform and how it is worn and seen by the public is very important. I don't think I've ever seen a Trooper in a uniform that didn't have sharp creases in the shirt and slacks even after a day in a patrol cruiser. On duty, they always have their "Smoky" hat on any time they're out of the car and outside. I don't know about today, but back in the '70s and '80s, they had one of the highest washout rates of any law enforcement agency for new recruits, and one of the strictest standards for behavior.

[QUOTE= Hair Trigger -

Professional appearance has always been a strong point with NCHP. While not a true "state police" they are set up as a paramilitary force, so the uniform and how it is worn and seen by the public is very important. I don't think I've ever seen a Trooper in a uniform that didn't have sharp creases in the shirt and slacks even after a day in a patrol cruiser. On duty, they always have their "Smoky" hat on any time they're out of the car and outside. I don't know about today, but back in the '70s and '80s, they had one of the highest washout rates of any law enforcement agency for new recruits, and one of the strictest standards for behavior.[/QUOTE]

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Ah - a topic near and dear among my LE friends....
When your position is not 911-driven and your primary responsibility is traffic LE and not much else (NC General Statutes Chapter 20) - guess what? You can stay looking strac! The neat, clean creases stay in, the impractical cover sets it all off and looks great. Even the car stays looking great!

You're not continually in motion going from domestic, to fight calls, to armed robberies, mental commitments, warrant service, in foot chases with drug dealers, slogging through public housing, etc, ad nauseum. So yep - you can stay looking great!
No slam on the NCSHP - just a clarification for reality's sake.

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Ret'd LEO
SWCA #2275

The reason that the N.C. Highway Patrol selected the model 29 as it’s commemorative revolver was that the patrol was established in 1929. So, the connection is the model #29 and the year “29. This was told to me by a troop commander who lived in my neighborhood when I lived in N.C.

What gun shop in N.C. did you find that M29 in?
BTW, did any of you hear about an attempted break-in at Perry's in Wendell last night? Supposedly made a mess of an attempt, but didn't steal anything.

Mid-South Guns in Wagram, NC; It's a wide spot in US 401 between Laurinburg and Raeford.