DOB for two Top Breaks

[bullseyex10]

I bought a 32 top break about a year ago. It has a pinned front sight, May 11, 1890?and Jan.& April something date on the barrel ( my eyes ain't what they used to be) serial #213808. It's a 32 short.
I also just today aquired my Greatgreatgrandfathers 38 S&W topbreak with July11, Aug. 24 and May 11 dates on the barrel, I can't make out the years. It's sewrial # is145023. It has what appears to be pearl grips.
The 32 is inabout 75% and I'd guess the 38 is a little less than that. I would like to know the manufacture dates and approxament value of these top breaks.I'll try and figure out how to post pictures and post them ASAP. Thanks in advance for your help. Jimmy

 

[bullseyex10]

I bought a 32 top break about a year ago. It has a pinned front sight, May 11, 1890?and Jan.& April something date on the barrel ( my eyes ain't what they used to be) serial #213808. It's a 32 short.
I also just today aquired my Greatgreatgrandfathers 38 S&W topbreak with July11, Aug. 24 and May 11 dates on the barrel, I can't make out the years. It's sewrial # is145023. It has what appears to be pearl grips.
The 32 is inabout 75% and I'd guess the 38 is a little less than that. I would like to know the manufacture dates and approxament value of these top breaks.I'll try and figure out how to post pictures and post them ASAP. Thanks in advance for your help. Jimmy

 

[cflier]

Hello Bullseye,
Because it has a pinned front sight and that high a serial number your 32 is most likely a 32 Double Action 4th model. It was probably shipped in the late 1890s, and your 38 is probably a 38 Double action third model shipped in the mid to late 1880s. If the 38 has a grip safety it is a late third model Safety Hammerless. It is impossible to pin the shipping date much closer than that without sending in the $30 for each to Roy Jinks at Smith & Wesson and getting a factory letter. Unless your guns have some non standard feature like a special order barrel or finish or lanyard ring, the letter 99 times out of 100 won't tell you much other than the shipping date. That's because almost all of the guns from that era were shipped to one of the big New York distributing companys. Pictures would help a lot with valuation. But again, the value will not be high unless it was a special order or scarce variation example. The most common barrel lengths for the 32 are 3 or 3 1/2 inches and for the 38 it was 3 1/4 or 4 inches. Any of those barrel lengths in the finish condition you describe would probably be worth from $150 to $250 depending on where you are and how motivated your buyer is. Either of those particular models with an original factory blue finish will increase the value from 15 to 25%. Any Smiths manufactured after 1900 in my experience is more likely to be blue than nickel. So I normally avoid paying a premium for a post 1900 blued gun.
Mark

 

[bullseyex10]

Thanks Mark,
As I mentioned the 38 was my gggrandad's so it's priceless to me. I really appreciate the info.It's just what I wanted to know. I was really happy to get the 38 from my Uncle. He had it sitting on a counter in the kitchen for protection (I traded him a stainless 5 shot Rossi for it). He was happy and I was happy. Thanks again for the info. Jimmy