Date a model 37 flat-latch

[Becket]

a friend has a 37 flat-latch with no prefix, and the serial #150***.Moddl 37 is stamped, and it has diamond grips. My 4th edition says somewhere between 1957 and 1962 (iirc) but no exact year of man. for those years. Can you date this please?

 

[Wiregrassguy]

Is it model marked? Probably not. Here are some known ship dates:

Pre-Model 37 serial number 131717 shipped in august 1958.
Pre-Model 36 serial number 150,682 shipped in July 1959.
Pre-Model 37 serial number 154827 shipped in August 1959.

 

[Becket]

Thanks; it is stamped model 37 in the usual place under the crane pivot on the frame there. I guess it may be a 1959 as the 1500** serial is pretty close?

 

[two-bit cowboy]

A Model 37 with a 150xxx serial number might have shipped in summer 1959.

The last Chiefs Special Airweight without a model number is in the 131xxx range; however, Dr. Jinks said there were some in the 155xxx and 156xxx range without the MOD-37 stamp shipped in 1959/60. They were real anomalies.