This little guy came "home" to AZ recently. It left the factory in January 1979 and sometime later in its life spent some quality time at the engraver's bench of a talented artist. There is a "CN" (or "GN" as observed in some of the below posts) engraver mark on the gun, but I have not determined who was the master with the hammer and chisel (any thoughts you may have as to the identity of CN/GN would be much appreciated). It also came in a French-fitted case. Here are a few photos I recently took:



















As always, I'd love to hear any thoughts, observations, or comments that you may have on this gun (AND of course, I would LOVE to see any photos of engraved guns or snubbie 66s in your collection).

Thanks for letting me share,

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Richard
Engraved S&W fan

Great Looking M66 Richard! Thanks for sharing that!

Here is my -2 without all the scratches!

My 66-1 class A factory engraved.
Dick


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zwartepiet....NICE are the grips some kind of bone ?...........................................M*

Igotta admit this made me LMAO

LMAO

Mine, also Plain Jane version. Dash 1. With a $15 knife from Big 5 picked up during one of my trips to the left coast years ago.

We run in circles, just not the same circles as RKMesa.

Richard, I enjoy seeing your pictures on this forum.

20190727_080854.jpg

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Robert
SWCA #2906, SWHF #760

Don't have a 66, but got a 64 engraved by Andrew Bourbon.

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M….thanks!…….they are caribou antler grips from forum member and master craftsman bigmtnman.

I highly recommend trying to get a set if you see them for sale on the forum!

Z

Don't know who CN is but he or she did a wonderful job. Beautiful weapon. Thanks for showing. Although I will probably never own a masterfully engraved handgun such as yours, I love to look at them!!

Richard,
Another beautiful example of less is more. The proportions of the engraving to the size just seem so right.
The scroll work and the backgrounding just looks perfect and tasteful and I really like the boarder work.
Another beautiful addition to be enjoyed.
Thanks so much for sharing.
Jake

I like that one a lot. Wasn't too sure about engraved stainless guns but have to admit they're growing on me and that 66-1 is really nice.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

I never thought much about engraved pistols, but seeing all the beautiful ones posted by RKMesa I have definitely changed my mind. What amazes me is how you find them! I have NEVER seen one at a gun show or locally at any shop.

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SWCA #3929

Richard,
You might post a picture on engraverscafe.com and find someone there who can identify the artist. Good luck.

Jake - Very thoughtful and insightful post. Building on your thoughts, I love the use of the double border in places, and the engraving coverage and layout is just right for the little Combat Magnum. Here are a few more photos of some of the engraving details...

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Richard
Engraved S&W fan

RK-
Fantabulous-two thumbs up! Snubby combat magnums are pleasing to see and handle, the tasteful coverage on this one enhances the visual experience, love the double borders as well! Thanks for sharing, always fun to see new stuff posted and shared by you��

If it is not an indelicate question what does a beauty like that cost??? Directed to original poster or any of you that have submitted other beautiful examples —-again if my question is indelicate or inappropriate then do not reply—just hoping to get a sense of what those dream guns cost. I’m assuming they’re more expensive if attributed to a particular master engraver.

RKmesa........What do they use to fill in the black background to make the engraving stand out......................................M*

Sometimes engravers will use some black ink "baked" in the background. However, on this one, the dark background is just the way the light is reflected, with the background being "frosted" with a dot punch and the surface of the engraving polished to reflect the white of the light box.

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Richard
Engraved S&W fan

Been thinking about doing the same thing to my 2.5 66-1 wish we knew who the engraver was, kinda looks like Ben Shostles work anyway very very nice..........................................M*

Where is the CN mark on the gun...........................................M*

On the right side, under the Made In USA 4-line roll mark.

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Richard
Engraved S&W fan

How in the heck did I miss that...Old eyes I guess............................................M*

At first glance, I'd say the engravers mark/initials are 'GN' instead of CN
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The upper left horizontal portion of the letter N (the Serif) forming the horizontal element in the capital letter G (called the Cross Bar).

A way of inter-twining the two letters.

I may be wrong but in making initial and monograms it's a common thing to do with letters.

I have no idea who the initials could be, either CN or GN.
There are very few engravers with their last name beginning with N though!.

Nice work. All single point shading. Nice layout design, clean cutting.
Looks to have been done with an air-assist tool. Not that it makes any difference. Most engravers use them now.
Most start out using one and never learn with hammer&chisel which have become props in glamour pics if nothing else..

I qualify to say that I am a know nothing on this subject and that I do not like tattoos.

But this the first example that I genuinely like looking at. The layout is truly artful.

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"Don't Give Up the Ship"

Thank you for your thoughts on this gun. Agree that it could be/probably is "GN". I will keep looking to find the engraver.

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Richard
Engraved S&W fan

I just realized that I never responded to this question. Engraved guns like the one that I posted can range from $3K to $6K+ depending on whether you commission them, buy them from a friend, or pick them up on one of the public auction sites. Competitive bids at the top of the range, person to person or a friend or a poorly described and not well viewed auction at the low side. The above 66-1 in a public GB auction cost me a little under $4K by the time I got her home.

Known master engravers do command a premium, especially if there is any gold worked into the engraving.

Hope that helps.

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Richard
Engraved S&W fan