Nickel plated 66-2

Abflyboy · Jul 5, 2019

I was at my LGS today, he has a 66-2 that looks to be nickel plated. I don't claim to be super knowledgeable on these but my thinking is the Model 66 guns are all stainless and the 19's are carbon steel.

There is an 'N' inside of a circle on one side of the grip frame and a 'S' on the other side of the grip frame.

Serial number is AZL1xxx.

Just wondering if it might be nickel plated or a very well done polish job.

I can upload pics later if needed.

old bear · Jul 5, 2019

I'm assuming that the revolver in question is highly polished.
Upload photos PLEASE..

ralph7 · Jul 5, 2019

old bear said:
I'm assuming that the revolver in question is highly polished.
Upload photos PLEASE..

Gotta be, never heard of nickel over stainless.

llowry61 · Jul 5, 2019

Hmmmm, is there an N on the cylinder ? I could see a nickle 19, but not a 66.

Bill Lear · Jul 5, 2019

IIRC, the Model 19 came in blued and nickel plated. The Model 66 came out some years later in stainless steel, with highly polished versions available.

My brother used to own a Nickel Mod 19 that I thought was the most beautiful revolver ever! Decades later, after a hard life the nickel was peeling in several places but it just added character!

ken158 · Jul 5, 2019

I question your LGS's knowledge of S&W's if he even thinks a 66 is nickel plated...

Abflyboy · Jul 5, 2019

Pics of 66-2 at LGS

Abflyboy · Jul 5, 2019

ken158 said:
I question your LGS's knowledge of S&W's if he even thinks a 66 is nickel plated...

He won't debate that ... That's why he called me in to look at it. Every nickel plated S&W I've owned had a much cleaner seam on the side plate. I've only had one other factory polished one in hand and it also had much cleaner lines on the side plate.

ACORN · Jul 5, 2019

Looks polished to me. Nickel has a warmer yellowish cast to my eye. Nickel plated stainless would be redundant.

scout II · Jul 5, 2019

It is just a stainless model 66. You can see where the model and serial number are in the picture that area has not been polished and is just the normal stainless steel. Nice looking gun though.

llowry61 · Jul 5, 2019

I agree that it is a standard 66 that has been polished. I thought nickel guns have an N on the frame and the cylinder. Not sure what the circle around the N means. Is there an N on the cylinder ? It would be on the outside edge outside of the chambers and extractor. Might mean a replaced part of some sort.

Abflyboy · Jul 5, 2019

llowry61 said:
I agree that it is a standard 66 that has been polished. I thought nickel guns have an N on the frame and the cylinder. Not sure what the circle around the N means. Is there an N on the cylinder ? It would be on the outside edge outside of the chambers and extractor. Might mean a replaced part of some sort.

There is no 'N' on the cylinder. I need to go back and look it over some more after a thorough wipe down. There is a lot of oil on the thing. The nooks and crannies are a bit dark between barrel and frame indicating it could have been polished after it was assembled.

moosedog · Jul 5, 2019

It's obviously stainless. You should tell the gun store guy that Dick's Sporting Goods is hiring.

Gene L · Jul 5, 2019

The hammer and trigger appear to be plated. Aren't they supposed to be case hardened? Or maybe they were polished down.

Abflyboy · Jul 5, 2019

moosedog said:
It's obviously stainless. You should tell the gun store guy that Dick's Sporting Goods is hiring.

OKAY SPECIAL KAY!!! I WILL BE SURE TO FORWARD YOUR SO VERY HELPFUL WONDERFUL WORDS OF WISDOM!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR VALUABLE AND FANTASTIC EXPERTISE!!!

Abflyboy · Jul 5, 2019

Gene L said:
The hammer and trigger appear to be plated. Aren't they supposed to be case hardened? Or maybe they were polished down.

I am questioning that too.

llowry61 · Jul 5, 2019

Usually, they have a brushed steel look to them as well. They should not be case colored. Here is a pic with an all original 66 right in the front. You can see that the trigger and hammer have a satin steel look to them. The gun he has is not all original. I have heard it referred to as flash chromed, however I am not sure that is the proper terminology.

ACORN · Jul 5, 2019

All of my stainless S&Ws have a matte silver flash chrome finish IIRC.

jtcarm · Jul 6, 2019

Abflyboy said:
He won't debate that ...

Then the debate is whether he's lying or really that ignorant.

Either way, I wouldn't trust him.

A gun dealer's three biggest lies:

"I don't have that model, but Brand X here is just as good."

"They catalog em, but they're not making any" (translation: I'm an under-capitalized bottom feeder and can't get any.)

"That's factory original." Often embellished with "They only made a few".

Narragansett · Jul 6, 2019

Well, if it is polished stainless, and it looks like it, and it was not proved to be factory, it devalues the gun, and should be priced accordingly

Nickel plated 66-2

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