.32 Caliber

[Precisoin_10]

Hello everyone,

My dad just remembered that he had on old gun and it happens to be a .32 Caliber revolver. I was trying to find out as much information as I can with it and was wondering if anyone on this site could help. Like I said it is a .32 Caliber, the barrel is 3 inches long and the revolver holds 5 rounds. It has a blued finish and it breaks open at the top. On top of the barrel it says "Harrington and Richardson Arms Company; Worcester Mass. U.S.A. PAT. OCT. 8 1895. There are two cereal numbers that I found on the gun. The first one is on the bottom of the butt, that number is 130971. The second one I found is on the inside of the handle behind the grip on the left side, that number is 160071. I don't know if this helps but any information on year it was made and how much it could be worth would help.

Thanks,
Joe

 

[glowe]

The problem with these revolver is that there is no definitive set of serial numbers associated with a specific year of manufacture to my knowledge, rather there is a range of manufacture years, so it is always somewhat of a guess. With that serial number and caliber, I can narrow down the manufacture date to around 1904-1907 for a hammer and police model, or in the 1920's or later for a hammerless. This information is conditional on the fact that you have a un-numbered (or early) model. H&R made top break revolvers into the 1980's, so pictures are always helpful. At any rate, this is a modern gun as far as the ATF is concerned, manufactured after 1898.

The number on the butt of the gun is the official sn#. Not sure about the second number, but many companies had a manufacturing or control number on all major parts until the gun was complete, and then it was stamped with it's own serial number.

Unfortunately, these revolvers have little value. Often they can be acquired for under $100. Years ago, the press vilified these guns and other low cost pistols as "suicide specials" or "Saturday Night Specials". The stigma lasted most of the 20th century and many of these guns were turned in or destroyed. I would assume that may be a contributor to the low value still today.