A brief history of the Centennial revolvers

[ten-mile]

Centennial 105

The first steel frame Centennial shipped from the factory was #104, shipped December 1952. That's the only one shipped in '52. #105 shipped April 1953. I don't know yet which numbers may have shipped from January 1953 to April 1953.
Quoting an email from Roy Jinks...
there was only one .38 Centennial sold in 1952 and it was serial number 104. The production records indicate the following; November 1952 the factory finished 7 units all airweights, the first steel unit was finished in December 1952. In March 1953 the factory finished 8 units and full production began in April 1953 with a total production of 639 units. I hope that this helps. Roy

 

[slfree]

There was a run of 5000 model 640's designated "Centennial." They had a suffix on their serial number of "CENT."

 

[ten-mile]

Excellent post. I have Centennial #105 (in nearly mint condition) and recently received the factory letter. According to Jinks, Centennials began at #104 which I have been told was the only steel frame shipped in 1952. #105 was shipped April 16, 1953 and there were "several revolvers with higher serial numbers that were shipped earlier in April than your revolver".

 

[Dosgatos]

I just purchased #5436 in nickel, and the dot on the top of the safety bar is red, rather than white. I wonder if that is so on other nickel guns?

 

[policerevolvercollector]

Good article. These little guns deserve a good writeup.

Agreed. Very good informative read on these under appreciated revolvers!!!

 

[Ilio]

Manufacturing year

Very informative article. I'm writing from Italy.
I would know the manufacturing year of my Airweight Mod. 42, SN 27691, someone can help me?
I'know that is possible to request the "Letter of authenticity" but is really difficult to pay for it from Italy.
Thank you in advance

 

[PALADIN85020]

Very informative article. I'm writing from Italy.
I would know the manufacturing year of my Airweight Mod. 42, SN 27691, someone can help me?
I'know that is possible to request the "Letter of authenticity" but is really difficult to pay for it from Italy.
Thank you in advance

In "ballpark" terms, serials from 1 to 30160 were shipped from 1952 to 1971. Your serial is near the end of this range, so I would estimate that it was shipped somewhere around 1970. Of course you never know with S&W as guns were seldom shipped in straight serial number order.

Hope this helps.

John
__________________

 

[DevilDog72]

cool thread

I love the centennial J frames. I have 2, a 640nd .38 and a 642-1 nl. Correction- wife procured my 642 for her SD use.



The 640 is getting more and more carry time.

 

[les.b]

I love the Centennials as well. I have a an early steel frame version from December 1953, and a model 42 airweight from September of 1963. I also have four modern versions: a model 340 PD, a M&P 340, a 640-1, and a 640-1 Pro Series. So I guess I reall like the style of these little pocket guns.

Lots of folks forget that James Bond was issued an Airweight Centennial at the same time as his more famous Wlather PPK!!:

How about a BBQ Centennial?:

More modern Centennials:

Best Regards, Les

 

[27 Man]

I am a little late to the party but after reading this thread I had to dig out my old pre-40 shipped in May, 1956. Mine has the screw at the top of the frame, flat latch and lock down pin. However, the finish is bright and I can only find the sn 761X on the butt. The flat on the barrel is blank as is the back of the cylinder. Ejector star does not appear to have any markings either. Trigger has been replaced at some point as it is thin, smooth and non-case hardened. This revolver belonged to a good friend who got me into the shooting sports but passed away a few years ago. It's a keeper.

 

[Combat_Diver]

My EDC when home is a 442 Pro. Only modifications is painting the front sight white then neon orange and lastly adding CTC grips. Gotta give every advantage to getting those 5 to the target.

CD

 

[Ilio]

In "ballpark" terms, serials from 1 to 30160 were shipped from 1952 to 1971. Your serial is near the end of this range, so I would estimate that it was shipped somewhere around 1970. Of course you never know with S&W as guns were seldom shipped in straight serial number order.

Hope this helps.

John
__________________

thank you. I hoped that there were registers with serial number and year of manufacture

 

[PALADIN85020]

thank you. I hoped that there were registers with serial number and year of manufacture

Roy Jinks, the official S&W historian, has access to the company records, which can provide the definitive answer you seek. Only a "factory letter" from him can provide you with an exact date of shipment.

As an alternative, you can become a member of the S&W Collectors Association, and have access to the special section of this forum which is for members only. Then you can simply request a month and year of shipment from Roy and he can give that to you by way of reply.

It's worth noting that the "Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson," now in its 4th edition, has some data on MOST S&W firearms that give general ranges of serial numbers by year. These are only ballpark - as noted, S&W hardly ever ships in consecutive serial number order. However, with the earlier Centennials, a more definitive listing is not available, and the serial number range in which your gun falls is addressed only by the broad range I quoted.

John

 

[ordnanceguy]

Anyone here got Centennial #890? If so, please contact me as I have the red box for your revolver. They deserve to be reunited.

And John, I join in the praise for your article. Well done and informative.

 

[shouldazagged]

While I like the humpbacked Bodyguards, the Centennial series long ago impressed me as the perfect pocket revolver, for all the reasons Applegate cited.

In 1999 I bought a very lightly-used 1990-built 640 .38 Special, one of the early CEN-prefix models . It's been in my pocket or within easy reach every day since. I'll never part with it.

Thanks for the history, John.

 

[Ilio]

Roy Jinks, the official S&W historian, has access to the company records, which can provide the definitive answer you seek. Only a "factory letter" from him can provide you with an exact date of shipment.

As an alternative, you can become a member of the S&W Collectors Association, and have access to the special section of this forum which is for members only. Then you can simply request a month and year of shipment from Roy and he can give that to you by way of reply.

It's worth noting that the "Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson," now in its 4th edition, has some data on MOST S&W firearms that give general ranges of serial numbers by year. These are only ballpark - as noted, S&W hardly ever ships in consecutive serial number order. However, with the earlier Centennials, a more definitive listing is not available, and the serial number range in which your gun falls is addressed only by the broad range I quoted.

John

thank you! I would request the "factory letters" for my revolvers but I do not know how to make the payment for letters to S & W.

 

[PALADIN85020]

thank you! I would request the "factory letters" for my revolvers but I do not know how to make the payment for letters to S & W.

Here is a photocopy of the official factory letter request form. Print it out in the standard 8 1/2 x 11 inch size. As you are not a member of the S&W Historical Foundation, the cost to you will be $75 in U.S. funds. How you can provide that, I do not know. I would suggest contacting someone at your local bank. All the information you need is on this form. Note that an additional $8 for the overseas postage is also required, since you are in Italy.

Hope this helps.

John

 

[PALADIN85020]

As you can probably tell from this thread, I love the little Centennial revolvers. Just for the record, here is an image of the ones I currently have in my collection.

John

 

[old tanker]

Certainly a nice history on the Centennials. The New Departure I have in .32 S&W is handy if somewhat anemic, by today's standards. My Model 40 is from around 1968 and has the old S&W upside down shoulder holster with it. The ex Michigan State Police Model 640-1 has the smoothest double action trigger of any revolver I own. With 158 grain lead SWC magnums it's about as serious a J-frame gets.

 

[Matt_X]

There's a slightly older thread that attempted to do some crowd sourcing which placed the beginning of the L series in 1968. Does this seem to be correct with respect to manufacturing (as opposed to shipped) dates?


At that time he also beleived the change in latch was also in 1968. But if the Model 40 above shipped in '66, then then it would seem the switch inmanufacturing must have occured before then.