I am trying to determine the age and value of my father’s revolvers he carried. Here is a list of the revolvers and any help would be greatly appreciated.
Smith and Wesson .38 cal d693430
Smith and Wesson 38 chief’s special 52561 .38 cal
Smith and Wesson .357 highway patrolman s234114
Colt Detective special .38 cal b07705 (I know it is a Smith and Wesson, but any help would be great)

From:
Supica, Jim; Nahas, Richard. Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson (Standard Catalog of Smith and Wesson) (p. 490). Gun Digest Media. Kindle Edition.
Line 1 is probably
1974-1975 D659902-D750000
(hence, wrong forum)

Line 2, unknown to me. I couldn't find this s/n range in my SCSW book. It's also possible this revolver is older than 1980 and, therefore, this is in the wrong forum.

Line 3.
1963-1964 S232000-S235999
Also older than 1980 and in the wrong forum.

Line 4. A Colt Detective Special is a different brand from Smith & Wesson. A S/N lookup from Colt's website says it's from 1970.

Again, wrong forum for this question.
Serial Number Lookup - Colt's Manufacturing LLC

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66/642/640/627/586/60/638/686

Hi Staz8235. I see that this is your first post, so let me start by saying welcome to the forum and thank you for joining us.

As collectors we tend to group things into orderly piles, and one way of doing that is to group the forum sections into year ranges. Since you're asking about years of manufacture you wouldn't necessarily know where to put the question. You did fine....you got to a place where people will know.

Serial numbers can help us give you a range of dates, but to help with values we really need to understand the condition of the piece. Pictures would help tremendously. There are several sticky posts that will walk you through how to post pictures. If it still doesn't work, just ask and we'll guide you.

I would suggest taking pictures of both sides, a closeup of the serial number, and a picture of the area below the barrel inside the frame that is only visible with the cylinder open. That last area will probably have something that looks like MOD 10-5 or MOD 28-2 which will help us. The Chiefs Special may not have the MOD notation in that area. That's ok. There's a great sticky post HERE that will walk you through what pictures to take and other helpful information.

After you get your pictures together, post the pictures and your questions in this forum section: S&W Revolvers: 1961 to 1980 That will get them in front of the group that is most knowledgeable about guns manufactured in that year range.

It sounds like your Dad had a nice group of small, medium, and large Smith & Wessons so that he was ready for any occasion. I'm afraid the Colt won't get much attention here but I'm sure that someone can point you in the right direction to learn more about that one.

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SWCA #3942 / SWHF #988

Just to add, if you are unable to post photos here is a post for information we need for an ID:

To IDENTIFY your Gun >

Condition of each gun and the model of the first gun with the D prefix would be important also.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

OP was asking for date of manufacture. So he wouldn’t know where to list it. Unless someone moved it I’d say he did pretty good where he listed it. Way to welcome a new member.

Welcome aboard from ol' Wyo.

Assuming the five-digit number you gave us for the Chiefs Special
is from the butt of the revolver it was likely from 1955 or 1956.

If that number is stamped on the frame in the yoke cut (seen when
you roll out the cylinder) it's an assembly number and of no value
for dating the revolver.

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Wrangler of stray Chiefs
Bob

Welcome to the Forum!

Just off the top of my head I would guess that the last three are about $1,000 each, give or take a couple hundred based on condition and originality.

Highway Patrolman guns are very popular, especially with the S prefix. Ditto for the two concealed carry candidates.

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You're shy a few manners.

Welcome to the Forum! Your father had great taste in revolvers, and passed down some very nice family heirlooms (if you intend to keep them!). I think other Forum members have provided you with approx. dates of manufacture, but the values are difficult to determine without more info and pictures. Condition, condition, condition! Model numbers, barrel lengths, and finish (blued or nickel) also determine value. Are any of them in their original boxes? For example, your first listing (.38, D693430) could be a fairly common Model 10, or a more valuable Model 12, 13, or 14, or a rare Model 45. There should be a model no. and serial number in the yoke area when you swing out the cylinder. All 3 S&Ws are interesting to Forum members, and I think most of us appreciate the Colt Detective Specials, too. Please try to provide some pictures and/or more accurate descriptions of each revolver and Forum members can better appraise the current values.

No, it could not be a Model 14. Despite the error on page 211 of the SCSW 4th, the D prefix was never used on the Model 14 K-38 Masterpiece. I sincerely hope that mistake is not repeated in the upcoming 5th Edition.

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Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318