Help dating 38 top break

[Waveracer]

I'm fairly certain this is S & W .38 D. A. Perfected 3¼ in. Serial # 521XX any ideas on when she was made?

 

[mmaher94087]

Purely a guess: 1912.

 

[STCM(SW)]

Here is mine...

 

[Waveracer]

That's a pretty gun! Nickel finish and pearl grips. Based off your serial I'll bet it is somewhere around 1914. Thanks for your reply!

 

[murphydog]

Welcome, and a very nice example of the Perfected! The majority of these I have seen were in nickel and many survivors are heavily worn.

Regarding the serial number, S & W never shipped in order and I recall reading with this model that they specifically shipped later numbers first to confuse their competition as to how many units were being sold. So the only way to be certain of its factory "birthdate" is a letter of authenticity, as seen in post #3.

Letters – Smith & Wesson Historical Foundation