Chicago Police Commemorative M66

[Warren Sear]

I have a gun that I would like to know a little more about. It is a S&W Model 66-1, 357 Magnum, made in the very early 80s, so it still has a pinned barrel and recessed chambers. It has special smooth stocks with unusual cutouts for the commemorative frame stampings. I have had it for a long time, and it is in excellent condition and has been shot very little.

It is a Chicago Police commemorative. I don't know the whole story, and I do not know its current value, but I would imagine it is getting up there. I also have the box and tools it came with.

I am curious if being a commemorative model adds, subtracts, or has no bearing on its value.

 

[GerSan69]

We've had threads before discussing commemoratives, and as I recall, the consensus is they're really only more valuable to folks that collect commemoratives, and most of the time appeal primarily to the folks who collect a particular subset, such as police revolvers, or federal agency revolvers, etc. Other than that, it's as valuable as any other Model 66-1. Now, if you have any accessories that may have come with it, or items that pertain to the theme, such as if you have a Chicago Police star or a presentation box, you probably have some increased value over other 66-1s - but there again, only the commemorative collectors care about that. The other problem I see is that if you are interested in selling at a premium based on the theme, Chicago PD, then your "audience" tends to be smaller, like folks who collect Chicago guns, people who collect police guns, and so on, and not the much larger group seeking a Model 66 or 66-1. Good luck, hope you enjoy your gun!

 

[GerSan69]

One other thing: those stocks are common to any S&W gun that has a logo of some sort on the sideplate.They're only "unusual" in the sense that those are the only instances that the factory supplied them. I've got a set like that I got from a guy who traded them to me because he didn't like the cutouts on both sides! Go figure, right?!?