Help, please, in IDing my late father's .357 Magnum

[acf2sts]

Greetings,

My name is Chris Finlayson. I am 72 and have a small low-key shop a bit north of Asheville NC where I minister to the needs of geriatric Japanese motorcycles.

The pistol in the attached pix belonged to my father and was engraved and inlaid by his friend, Wayne Van Buskirk of Greece NY - a 'burb of Rochester. I first remember seeing it at the range in Springfield VT and we moved from there to Pittsburgh in 1959.

I read the general instructions and advice twice before beginning this post - very helpful and appreciated.

The pistol is a .357 Magnum with a 6 1/2" barrel and the serial #
S 99911 stamped into both the yoke and the butt of the steel frame inside the wood grips.

While my father was alive, he kept this pistol in a shearling lambskin case. Alas, it was not so carefully stored before it recently came to me.

I would like to know the year of manufacture, model number, and a ball-park market value. The engraving and inlay make it more difficult to evaluate, I'm sure. I have more pix of the artwork but hit the limit on attachments.

The collector market for motor vehicles currently values originality above all other things - so any modification, no matter how much better it looks or works, detracts from the current market value. Sad, but true.

How does the vintage firearms market work? My father had a number of older European long guns and they were extensively engraved. Are there still people who do this kind of exquisite work? Carving and sculpting steel like it was wax.

I am grateful for access to your collective knowledge.

Chris Finlayson
Existential Motorcycles
Alexander NC 28701

 

[mh51]

Chris,
Before model numbers were assigned, your gun was called the ".357 magnum". Serial number puts it in the 1953-54 range. They were the top of the line for S&W.
Some engraving can enhance the value of a revolver, but in this case I'm afraid it won't, unless you find just the right buyer.
If you choose to keep it and shoot it, you've got one of the best!

 

[sophie]

Welcome to the forum from Texas, Chris.
Nice first post.

 

[444 Magnum]

Hey Chris and welcome to the forum.
As Mike said, .357 magnum, which would later become the Model 27.
Value, as you have stated, is subjective. Especially with the custom engraving.
A standard pistol of this type with magna grips and a 6.5" barrel in very good condition would be in the $1,000-$1,200 range. Very nice examples may be slightly more.
Your pistol has non-relieved target stocks that are period correct and are desirable.
The engraving is the elephant in the room as far as overall value goes. Engraving is art and generally has to speak to the buyer to get him to open his wallet.
You're right about originality. High condition original pistols bring a premium. Quality engraving will bring a premium depending on the style, coverage, engraver, and overall condition.
The engraving on your pistol is interesting. Please don't be offended when I say that, to me, it has an "unfinished" look. There are engraving experts on the forum who may tell me I don't know what I'm talking about. This is where the art has to speak to the individual. I do like the gold inlay on the grip frame. That area is nicely executed.
Overall value, as stated, is hard to say. If selling, you'll need to find the person who appreciates these particular custom touches.

 

[shown50]

Welcome to the forum, the amount of knowledge here is incredible. To me the engraving would run off most of the high end collectors as they want the gun to be exactly how it left the factory. As 444 Magnum said above it looks unfinished, I think if the side plate had some coverage it would tie the whole look together. If I saw that gun local(East TN) I would offer around $5-700 as I think it's neat. I enjoy shooting most of my gun and wouldn't feel bad about firing that one as the collector value would be low.

 

[raljr1]

The engraving looks better in the closeups. Pretty well done to my uneducated eye. That said, it is not collector grade work. The gun is in good condition overall, and the grips alone would bring $200-$300 , so the $500 to $700 quoted seems pretty low to me. Almost any shooter grade 357 magnum from the 1950s brings $1000. Some might be put off by the engraving, but for the right person, this is easily worth $1000. Having said that, if it was my dad's gun, I'd most likely keep it and let my heirs worry about what it was worth.

 

[raljr1]

and, yes, there are still folks out there doing this type of engraving. Poke around this forum a bit and you can see some wonderful examples.

 

[RKmesa]

The pistol ... was engraved and inlaid by ... Wayne Van Buskirk of Greece NY - a 'burb of Rochester.

The pistol is a .357 Magnum with a 6 1/2" barrel and the serial #
S 99911 stamped into both the yoke and the butt of the steel frame inside the wood grips.

I have more pix of the artwork but hit the limit on attachments.

Are there still people who do this kind of exquisite work? Carving and sculpting steel like it was wax.

Chris Finlayson
Existential Motorcycles
Alexander NC 28701

Welcome to the forum!!! That is a fun gun and even more fun family treasure. Sounds like great memories accompany that gun. I also agree that it probably shipped in late 1954 or early 1955 (only an Historical letter will tell you for sure).

There are still talented engravers doing amazing work, but many of the old masters are no longer engraving or have passed on.

We would love to see some more detailed photos of the engraved areas. You can just post a reply to this thread (the button on the left below the last post on this thread) and attach another 5 photos. The engraving work that I can see appears to be fairly nice. However, I have never seen an engraved gun where only the areas in front of the cylinder, the rib/front sight base, the knuckle, the thumb release, and the trigger shoe were engraved. It almost looks like he was interrupted and did not complete engraving. Also supporting the "interrupted" theory is that all of the engraved areas are left "in the white" - meaning that they never were re-blued after the engraving was completed.

Regardless - that is a fun gun, with some condition issues (a little rust here and there) and interesting choice of engraving. I would put the value on the open market at between $700 and $1,500.

Thanks for sharing your treasure!

 

[dobegrant]

Welcome from Arizona, I would keep it for the family attachment and pass it on.

 

[444 Magnum]

The engraving on your pistol is interesting. Please don't be offended when I say that, to me, it has an "unfinished" look.

The engraving work that I can see appears to be fairly nice. However, I have never seen an engraved gun where only the areas in front of the cylinder, the rib/front sight base, the knuckle, the thumb release, and the trigger shoe were engraved. It almost looks like he was interrupted and did not complete engraving. Also supporting the "interrupted" theory is that all of the engraved areas are left "in the white" - meaning that they never were re-blued after the engraving was completed.

Richard expressed my thoughts a little more thoroughly.

I think it might be a worthwhile and satisfying project to have the engraving completed and the pistol refinished. Finding an engraver who is familiar with the style already begun will be key to the project.
It would be interesting to know more of the history of the embellishments. Did Van Buskirk get ill, cost overruns, other problems?
Completed, this could definitely be a family heirloom for many generations.

 

[22hipower]

I really like the work on the knuckle and think it would have been a fine piece if covered with more of the same. Seems very odd that only the parts we see were engraved and, as RKmesa says, that those were left in the white. Value is hard to nail down, the range RKmesa suggests is probably reasonable. But since it was your Dad's it is priceless to you. And welcome to the Forum.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

 

[Jim Watson]

I was going to say that is the strangest engraving coverage I have seen, but I can get on board with the uncompleted theory.

But the edge of the trigger shoe?

 

[handejector]

Welcome aboard.
We need lots of pics! Closeups! You just post them, and I'll manipulate them for you.
I am not convinced the engraving was left in the white.
I also can't decide if the foliage is cut steel or silver or platinum inlays.
PICS!

 

[A10]

Welcome to the Forum!
The engraving is intriguing, it would be interesting to know the background on it, and to find out if it was intentionally left this way or if there were some reason behind what appears to be a partial effort.
I particularly like the fact the trigger shoe is engraved.
.357s are really top of the line firearms. The grips are in amazing condition for a 68n year old (wish I were in that good of shape!).

 

[SGT ROCK 11B]

Interesting the trigger shoe got engraved.

Engraved handguns don't sell well, JMHO. Most people want shooters and not Safe Queens.

So $700 is reasonable for a quick sale. $1000 may sit awhile. If it was unengraved, in mint shape I see $1500+ for it. I like most engraved handguns but this one is unfinished to my eye.

 

[Hawg Rider]

Hello Chris, and welcome to the Forum! You inherited a very nice .357 Magnum revolver, one of S&W's finest. Yours would probably have looked like mine (s/n S140334, ca. 1955) when it left the factory. The engraving is certainly interesting, and Mr. Van Buskirk definitely had some skills. Why he never finished the engraving is a mystery because it would have been a very attractive revolver when completed (BTW- I was born in Greece, NY and lived in Upstate NY until I moved to Florida to attend college). As others have stated, your revolver's value has been negatively affected by the incomplete engraving. But with that said, it's still a great and valuable family heirloom, and I'm sure that the engraving could be completed by a reputable engraver if you decided to go that route. Enjoy!

 

[acf2sts]

Reply to the many welcome replies; will post more pix

Greetings,

Thank you to the many of you who have replied to my plea for help. I've learned more about this pistol in a few minutes reading than I would/could have in days/weeks doing the research on my own. In this time-limited life, the gift of time is the most precious of all.

But, contrary to the general run of advice, I would like to pass it on via sale. Many of the replies asked for more/better pix. I will take another series later today and post them this evening.

I have not done any serious shooting in many years, although I do keep a couple of utilitarian firearms. I still have a few of the medals my father won in VT state championships in the '50s.

Although I was just a wee lad, my father took me with him to rifle matches all over the NE US. My father's medals mean more to me than does the S&W, which he did not shoot hardly at all. I think he had the marksman's disdain for such a relatively crude tool. He kept it because of the engraving/inlay by his friend Wayne Van Buskirk.

Accordingly, I would like to sell the pistol and use the proceeds to build myself a vapor-honing blast cabinet for my motorcycle shop - something that I know he would approve. He was practical-minded engineer - not sentimental.

Chris Finlayson

Existential Motorcycles
Alexander NC 28701

 

[BAM-BAM]

I was going to say Family heirlooms are priceless..... I've got my Dad's 1939 Colt New Service in .357 magnum with King adjustable sights. Priceless to me!

IMHO your's is an interesting shooter grade... engraving looks nice but looks unfinished as many have stated; and I think will hold the price down unless you luck into just the right buyer who "likes" what he or she sees!

Good luck

 

[acf2sts]

More/better pix of my father's .357 - Batch 1 of 3

Hello again,

Several of you requested more pix - and here they are.

I will split them into at least three posts because of the five-per-post limit.

I gave the piece a careful cleaning and inspection before taking the new pix. These were taken in my shop under lights against a white background while the first lot was taken outdoors against a blue cloth background. Hence the very different tone/feel to the pix.

The bore was dusty but oiled and rust-free. I ran a bore brush with Hoppe's cleaning fluid down the barrel and followed it with a patch soaked in Hoppes oil. The lands of the rifling are as clean and sharp as the day they were cut.

Among the pix you will find closeups of several cosmetic defects; principally, small rust spots on either side of the muzzle where the bluing was damaged by a knock against something or other. Two very small spots on the left side of the frame, and one at the lower-right in the engraved panel on the left side.

 

[acf2sts]

More/better pix - Batch 2 of 3

This is the second batch of pix of a total of three