Age of 2"

[Bob8687]

Neighbor's husband passed and she asked me to ID / Age his S&W 2". With S&W SPC CTG on barrel it is a .38 special...Serial # is: C153509 Here's the curious part: inside the frame where a model # should be is this exactly:

T 4

1 10 15 (the 1 could be a 7) and the 1 of the "10" is crowding the 0)

Any ideas? Thanks for any assistance.
Bob

 

[Truckman]

That gun dates to the 1948-51 era...Only a SWHF letter could get you a shipping date...No model numbers were used in that period...The numbers and symbols inside on the frame are inspector marks and assembly numbers, meaningless now......Ben

 

[JP@AK]

S&W 2"
Serial # is: C153509

Bob

Ship dates are very uneven in this serial range. Here are some examples:

C151961 February, 1952
C152420 February, 1951
C155209 May, 1950
C156783 October, 1951. That one is a 2" unit.

 

[murphydog]

Welcome and condolences to your neighbor's widow.

The model is a .38 Military & Police.

 

[Hawg Rider]

Welcome to the Forum! As murphydog stated, your neighbor has a post-war .38 M&P (Military and Police) revolver (.38 Special cartridge). There were several million M&Ps manufactured over many decades, so they are not particularly rare or valuable. However, the 2" bbl. is one of the more sought after and collectable models, depending upon its condition. S&W did not start marking their revolvers with model numbers until 1957, and that one would later become the Model 10. If you could post some pictures that would definitely help with assessing the condition and value. Hope this helps.

 

[robertrwalsh]

I have C55161, a 2" Blue. Shipped for the Portland P D in June 1949 if I remember correctly. I did letter it.

 

[JP@AK]

I have C55161, a 2" Blue. Shipped for the Portland P D in June 1949 if I remember correctly. I did letter it.

March 14, 1949, received by George Lawrence for the PPD.