Info. on Victory Model .38 Spl

[js1392]

I have a Victory Model in .38 Spl, that I was hoping to find some information on:
It is a 4" parkerized gun with U.S. Navy rolled across the top strap. The back strap has been embossed "Lou. Div. of Police", which I'm assuming is Louisville, KY P.D. The gun is still wearing its smooth walnut grips, which if I remember right match the serial number of the gun. I'd put the condition in the 85% range, with some honest holster wear and a bit of filing to the front sight. The serial number is V 62400X. Can anyone tell me the date of manufacture and where it may have been sent during its war years? The backstrap tells me pretty well what it did in later life.
Thanks,
John

 

[JP@AK]

The serial number is V 62400X.

Mid- to late-1944. You could letter it and get the exact ship date, along with a statement about which Naval Yard it went to.
I am not one of the experts on the Victory Model. I hope one of them will be along soon. But from what little I know, I'm suspicious of the Navy marking. This seems too late in the war for that.

and where it may have been sent during its war years?

That is probably not possible. These were scattered from hell to breakfast. It may have been shipboard, it may have been used by the Shore Patrol stateside or overseas. Who knows?
Jack

 

[js1392]

Interesting... Thanks for the quick reply. I guess I never figured the top strap mark to be suspect, but even if it is, I didn't pay too much for this revolver to begin with. The Police marks, I was told, depreciated it from collector value. But, I didn't mind since that's my line of work. Hoping to hear more...

 

[DWalt]

The Navy marking is highly suspect for a SN that high. Fakes are known, due to the desirability and increased value of Navy-marked revolvers. It does not take much to fool the unwary. A factory letter would help determine authenticity, but I would assume without further verification, it was a fake marking. If so, it has no collector value no matter what other markings or engravings it may have.

By the way, the authentic early Navy-marked revolvers lack many of the various stampings that are found on other Victory models, as they did not go through the Army inspection and marking system, as was the case for those which later went to the Navy after the Army took over all production contracts.

 

[opoefc]

js1392, Post some photos of all the markings, and we can give you a better answer as to the possibility of faking. If both markings are genuine, then the gun probably found it's way to the Louisville PD from the surplus gun market after WW2 ( with the fairly remote chance that a Navy marked gun was pulled from shipment at S&W to fill an urgent request from the Defense Supply Comm. for a Police Dep't need). Law enforcement organizations normally acquired their Victory Models through two methods: (1) Direct shipment from the Defense Supply Comm. in WW2, and (2) Direct turnover or surplus sales by the US Gov't after WW2. A factory letter will tell you where the gun was shipped in approx. June 1944. A search of the archives of the Louisville PD may shed some light on it's history with them, if that stamping is genuine. A law enforcement stamping on a Victory Model, if genuine, does not detract from it's value, as there are far more collectors of Police marked guns, than Victory collectors, which keeps the market active in that niche. Ed.

 

[DWalt]

Quite a few years ago, I had one otherwise correct military Victory model that was stamped or engraved "Ohio State University Police" or something similar on the left side. It is now long-gone, and I do not remember any details. I have always assumed that many such police-marked military Victories were most likely to have been obtained as government surplus after WWII at little or no cost.

 

[digi-shots]

I believe the changeover from "U.S. NAVY" stampings to "U.S. PROPERTY" (for guns shipped to the Navy) was around the V267,xxx serial number range.

I also saw mention of a Defense Supply Corp. Victory (without any topstrap markings) in the V622,xxx range that also had "Lou Div of Police" stamped on the backstrap.

There are collectors out there that find these police marked Victory models very desirable.

Hope this helps!

 

[js1392]

It appears that I'm a victim of a forgery. The space between the US and Navy is egregious (approx 5mm). Also, there are no periods after the U and S (as in U.S.) as there are in all of the other examples I've seen now. I'm trying to attach pics, but not having a whole lot of luck (new iMac... still figuring this thing out). I have several bona fide WWII guns in a 1911A1, Garand, and Carbine, but I didn't necessarily buy this one for the Navy marks, so I guess I'm not too distressed. A bit disappointed maybe, but it's still a good shooter.

 

[js1392]

Mine has three "P" proof marks. One under the barrel, aft of the serial number. One on the side plate, on the left side. And one on the rear of the cylinder. So, some unscrupulous dork went and mucked up an otherwise nice victory by throwing a shoddy navy stamp on it, to get a few more bucks. Glad I didn't pay that much for it. I'm still working on pics...

 

[js1392]

Here's a shot at attaching a pic...

 

[js1392]

Navy stamp:

 

[js1392]

Lou. Div. of Police. (Pictures are from my iPad and kind of turned out poorly, sorry...)

 

[DWalt]

More than likely an original civilian revolver doctored with a Navy stamp by someone who did not know much. I can't see the Navy stamping on yours that well from your picture, but from what I can see, it does not appear to be correct. Too bad. Nonetheless, if you have $50 to spare, a factory letter would probably fill in the blanks assuming that you are interested in doing so.

I have seen numerous guns of various kinds having spurious military and government markings and I could never understand why anyone would do it. I nearly got into a fistfight with one guy who insisted a crude "USMC" engraved on a Remington Model 51 .380 pistol made it a very rare and valuable Marine Corps item, and was highly indignant that I didn't believe it was, rather just another mutilated pistol. And then there's the case of a revolver (don't remember what it was) on which someone had stamped "FBI" with all the skill of a 6 year-old.