Factory engraved no dash 629???

[DubsModel29]

Have a question for the "Factory engraved" guys. I believe this outstanding no dash 629 to be factory engraved though I have no proof. I emailed Mike with the historical foundation and he said because of the era of the gun, it would take weeks and weeks to hear back from that dept. What I'm going on is that it has the small S&W logo on the left side of the frame. All no dash 629's have it on the side plate. I cannot find a single no dash 629 with the smaller logo that wasn't factory engraved. What I'm not sure is if a distributor could have ordered them that way back in the day and then had them engraved the way they wanted them. The other thing that is strange is that there is a matching 3 digit number stamped inside the ejector shroud, on the grip frame and under the extractor on the cylinder. These are not the original grips. It more than likely came with smooth targets. Anyone have any thoughts??

 

[dobegrant]

Can’t answer your question but that is really nice

 

[Doc44]

The gun may have been sent to the engraving department where the parts were numbered to keep them together. I have an engraved 629 with similar numbering. The small logo on the left side does support the gun being shipped as factory engraved. You are also correct about the original stocks probably being smooth. I would definitely request a letter from the S&WHF as it would most likely be worth the wait.

Bill

 

[22hipower]

Nice gun and good advice from Doc44. It is unlikely that you'll be disappointed with a letter although one probably won't tell you more than when and where it shipped and that it was factory engraved and which class of engraving (A,B,C). From what I can see, and I'm no authority on it, and given the timeframe, which we could home in on closer if we had the SN, I'd guess it was contract engraved in Italy. A letter won't tell you that but many of them were contract engraved by the factory in the 1978/79/80/81 timeframe. The letter will probably simply say "factory engraved" though.

Jeff
SWCA 1547

 

[A10]

I'm a little surprised Richard hasn't chimed in yet. He's usually all over anything that has "Engraved" in the title!

 

[DubsModel29]

Well fortunately gang I did have Master Engraver Paul Piquette comment on this revolver on a FB page and he agrees that it was more than likely a contract engraving. Engrave for the factory but not by the factory. He did mention, Jeff, that they simply couldn't keep up with the engraving demands around the timeframe you mentioned so they outsourced it. Heck I learned something today!

 

[Doc44]

S&W has used engravers outside of the company for many years. Alvin White was routinely used by the company and many of his guns letter as being factory engraved. In the 1950s, German engravers were also used and some of S&W's most unique guns were done by them. Many 629s and Model 66s were engraved by Italian engravers. The guns are well done but are similar in appearance. That is why they do not realize the same prices as guns done in house.

Bill

 

[A10]

A set of rosewood smooth targets would look spectacular on that one.

 

[RKmesa]

I agree with Bill and Jeff - that is a nice example of the Italian contract Factory engraving and most likely shipped with smooth presentation target grips. I also echo the advice to get an Historical Letter for your records to confirm it is factory engraved.