Help With ID, Please

[phubai8]

I could use some help IDing a couple of old S&Ws for a friend.
Mostly interested in date they left the factory.
They are both family guns and will not be sold.


First is
Five screw
Round Butt
38 SPL (?) (Not marked on barrel?)
SR NR 49417
Factory Nickel

Second is
Five Screw
Square Butt
38 Spl
SR NR 459662
Factory Nickel
MOP Grips (Poss Factory)

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Green Frog]

As I'm sure you know, pictures would be most helpful. Also, the barrel length, number of shots in cylinder, type of sights, etc. I'm going to take a SWAG and say based on the limited info, it sounds like he may have a couple of pre-War M&P revolvers, but the guess is more "WA" than S!

If they are M&Ps, the first one is from about 1903, but the second is in that big group that SCSW puts between 1915 and 1942. I can't get you much closer than to guess late '20s - early '30s.

Froggie

 

[phubai8]

Froggie
Thanks much for the feedback. I'll try to go over to his shop and take a couple of pictures tomorrow. He has a business doing Ceracoating on all types of metal (yes, he does do guns.) I introduced him to this website and expect he will be joining soon. Don't know why I didn't think to put the barrel length in the questions (?). Both are six inch and six shot and have the high rouund top front sights and notch rears. The nickel on both is really rough and the MOP grips have a noticable chip but are still very nice. Was it common for S&W to not put the caliber on the barrel. That has me wondering... It is a 38 and will chamber 38 Special.

 

[murphydog]

Several possibilities here, but if they are .38 Specials most likely these are Military & Police revolvers. The early SN (presumably from the bottom of the grip frame) indicates a 1903-'04 ship date, and the other from the mid-1920s. The early one should have been stamped ".38 S & W Special and U.S. Service CTGs (cartridges)" on the left barrel, and the newer one ".38 S & W Special CTG" on the right barrel. If these are not present they may have removed during a refinish.

Unless the stocks have S & W medallions, it is unlikely they are factory. Here are photo posting instructions:

Click on Post Reply under the last message in the thread, then Manage Attachments. A smaller window will open with an empty text box. Click on Browse to search your hard drive for the location of the photos, then Upload. They should appear in the text when you post the message.

Hope this is helpful.

 

[phubai8]

Alan
Thank you for the info and advice. Will do my best get some pictures tomorrow.
Mike

 

[Class III]

Mike,

Be for-warned that you may have to resize your digital pictures. The MAX size you can upload as an attachment is 1024 x 768. Crop your pictures to get rid of unwanted/unimportant background items.

HTH,

Class III

 

[phubai8]

Some Pics & Correction

Here are some pics of the guns in question. Gun 2 was his grandmother's personal weapon. They both look like serious projects to me. He is considering CeraKoating both. Thank you in advance for any and all feedback.

 

[mikepriwer]

The shipping date for the earlier one is 1904 - 1905, and for the later one, maybe 1923.
I'm not familiar with Ceracoating, but if that is the plan for these two guns, they will
be worth zero afterwards.

The earlier one is a 1902 1st change, which is not all that scarce. In its present
condition, its perhaps a $100 gun. The later one is in better condition, but is part
of a much larger group. Its perhaps a $200 gun, as is.

Mike Priwer

 

[phubai8]

Mike
Thank you very much for the feedback. I told him refinishing would ruin any collector value. He is a youg'n (30 something) trying to start a business doing this coating work. I'm not up on it either but it looks something like duracoat to me. It's a sprayon finish that is supposed to go on anything, i.e. baseball bats, and hold up. Bottom line, he is a gun user not a gun collector.
Mike

 

[kenjen]

i say refinnish them, if what mikepriwer says is right than they aren't worth that much anyway. i think even after they are refinnished you can still get $100-$200 for them. enjoy shooting them

 

[Art Doc]

I'm going to leave before I say something provocative.