BROUGHT THIS HOME IN A GOLD BOX TODAY??

[wwingsong]

It says on the box m+p 38special 4 inch Gold Box but.. its a five screw gun with serial number 553442 ? I cannot figure out the Date of birth on this old gun..Help please?

 

[gmborkovic]

Hello Wing, one crappy pic and you want help? Some more pics , up close.
Best

 

[Targets Guy]

I would guess a Model of 1905, Change 4 circa late 20's. Said another way it is a .38 M&P 4" hand ejector.

Here is s/n 877679 which shipped in 12/1941

screengrab

neither the finish nor the grips are original

 

[g-dad]

Hello, wwingsong. It appears to be a nice gun. I found 564xxx shipped 2/27. It would be nice to see a few more pics. We like those!!

Here's mine s/n 268xxx shipped Nov. 1917

 

[wwingsong]

SO I PUT MORE PICS..IS IT A 1926 YA THINK? IF SO IS THE GOLD BOX ALL WRONG?

 

[RKmesa]

SO I PUT MORE PICS..IS IT A 1926 YA THINK? IF SO IS THE GOLD BOX ALL WRONG?

The gold box (if it looks like the one below) is a post war box from the late 1940s - 1950s and your gun is from the 1920s - the mushroom shaped extractor rod knob is a dead give away of an early 1900's M&P.

Post war gold M&P box:

 

[Absalom]

The mushroom-shaped ejector rod does put the gun before 1927, and I think the 1926 guess isn't bad. The stocks are a bit too late for the gun; it should have non-medallion checkered walnut (like Mike's in post #3), the ones you have are 1930s pre-war small service stocks. Check the inside of the right stock for a serial, which is very unlikely to match.

 

[JP@AK]

The stocks are a bit too late for the gun; it should have non-medallion checkered walnut (like Mike's in post #3), the ones you have are 1930s pre-war small service stocks. Check the inside of the right stock for a serial, which is very unlikely to match.

Actually, unless my eyes are getting worse than I think, those stocks have the recessed gold-wash medallions from the 1911-1919 period. That makes them older than the gun, and quite nice to have.

See the very different, 1930s, style medallion in this picture.

Those in g-dad's picture look like these. This particular pair are original on a 1916 revolver.

And here is the same style medallion on round butt stocks from about 1912.

 

[JP@AK]

HOLD THE PHONE!

I was looking at g-dad's picture, instead of the one posted by wwingsong. My mistake and Absalom is correct if he was writing about wwingsong's stocks.

I'll leave my post up anyway, just for educational purposes.