There's 196 of them, numbered consecutively from whatever to whatever, with the prefix 657.
I know this because I forgot it ----------------------once!!
My first one came direct from Herbie Harris (Chicago based distributor, and the instigator of these things). My price---full retail at the time (June, 1959)---$135. My new bride and I drove 600 miles out of our way on our honeymoon to pick it up----her first (real) introduction to lunatic fringe gun collectors!!
Fast forward about 30 years or so, and I'm at a worthless Knoxville gun show because I didn't have anything better to do that Saturday. This worthless gun show is of the 4-500 table variety I go through in 45 minutes to an hour---never slowing down or stopping to pick something up, and look at it---a complete waste of time!!
I'm through, and headed for a friend's table to pick up my traveling library, and head for home. I pass by a stairway where a sign says, "More Tables Upstairs". I say "Screw it! It's too damn hot down here, and it'll be worse up there----and up I go. There are 14 tables arranged in a U around the landing. I stop right there, and scan the tables. There's a likely S&W something on the far table to the left. Over I go. This thing looks to be one of those .32 RPT's. It's as new, and has a tag on it, that says "22/32-32 Caliber-$450". I pick it up!
This thing looks A LOT like the real thing----selling for $2000 at the time. I can't for the life of me remember that 657 serial prefix---never mind I know what book it's in ("History"), and I know the page number (156).
There's no way in hell this guy is going to let me go waltzing downstairs with his gun to look in the book ----AND there's no way in hell I'm going to put it down!! I figure the gun is worth $450, no matter what it is---pay the $450, and head for the books.
I arrive, gun in hand, and point to my briefcase under the table---never said a word. Friend says, "Looks like Ralph got a goodie." I look in the book, give a fist pump; and friend says, "Yep, Ralph got a goodie!"
That went into Collection #1--S&W Target Guns---defined as "Anything with target sights." Not all that long after that, I came to the realization I didn't have a collection, I had an accumulation of guns with target sights (135 of them) that had no history, and told no story. I sold damn near all of them, and started over---this time with REAL target guns!
The moral of this story is FOCUS!!
By the by, I looked in the book again just now; and the serial numbers are 657174 through 657369.
Ralph Tremaine
