Date please smith 1 2ed

[simmitt]

I have bought a Smith model #1 second release
SN 20101 anyone can give me a date please.

 

[robertrwalsh]

4th edition says 1860-1868, 11672-126361. I am guessing you are looking at 1860-1861.

 

[glowe]

It is a Model 1, 2nd Issue. During the Civil War, these little revolvers were very popular, made in large batches and sold mostly to distributors. 1863 would be a safe bet, but a year either way is possible. Get a historical letter for your records and it will provide an exact ship date for your gun.

 

[simmitt]

Yes thanks. I travel alot and run across Smith's sometimes. I just cant carry my smith book all the time. THANKS.

 

[first-model]

A Model 1-2, serial number 20101 would likely date to August or September 1861. I know of guns within about a thousand serial numbers on either side of this particular gun, and they both date to 1861.

That said, guns did *not* always ship in order of serial number. The only way to find out for sure is to get a factory letter.

By the way ... does this gun have a two or three patent date cylinder?

mike

 

[glowe]

These guns never shipped in serial number order. Not sure why half of all threads are covered with guesses as to when a gun was shipped, but in many cases a 3 to 5 year ship date spread is not out of the question and some outliers can sit for longer in the bins at the factory. It is only an academic exercise without a letter but gives a general time-frame for the OP since many ask. I have a 23,XXX that shipped in 1863 and a 31,XXX that shipped the same year.

 

[first-model]

These guns never shipped in serial number order. Not sure why half of all threads are covered with guesses as to when a gun was shipped, but in many cases a 3 to 5 year ship date spread is not out of the question and some outliers can sit for longer in the bins at the factory. It is only an academic exercise without a letter but gives a general time-frame for the OP since many ask. I have a 23,XXX that shipped in 1863 and a 31,XXX that shipped the same year.

Respectfully, Gary, I've been tracking Model 1 serial numbers and shipping dates for years now. I can say with certainty that many of them did ship in rough* order of serial number, and because of that I've been able to accurately guess a Model 1 shipping date more often than not.

(* If we were looking at this on a day-by-day basis, then I'd agree that serial number is not reliable. But especially with the 1-2's that were shipping during the Civil War, it's reasonable to assume that stock wasn't sitting around for more than a few days, both in the factory and in Joseph Storrs' warehouse, and that on a month-to-month basis serial number is reasonably accurate.)

That said, I always offer the caveat that without a factory letter, the shipping date is just a guess. And sometimes I'm wrong. I'm happy to admit when I'm wrong, and all I ask is that I can add that data point to my database.

Mike