Interesting S&W grip medallion

[axehandle]

Interesting S&W medallion.
Thing is brass colored. On a 32-20 hand ejector from about 1909. Is this common?

 

[axehandle]

Never had the side plate off one of these. Fit and finish is amazing. Wish the outside looked as nice.

 

[glowe]

The escutcheon is what you find surrounding the retaining stock screw. The medallion in your image from the 1910 decade were gold washed over brass. That one is easily worn enough to have removed all traces of gold wash. Strip the gun and clean each part with paint thinner and a toothbrush before putting it back together and you will find some highly polished parts that sparkle in the light!

Forgot to add that I did not see a patent date on your rebound slide?? If it is not there, the stocks are not original. The post 1906 guns had the stamp on the slide. The stocks with the gold washed medallions ran from 1910 to 1920.

 

[Jack Flash]

Hi Axehandle, welcome to the Forum!

I'm sure someone will come along soon with chapter and verse on how common those medallions are. While we are waiting, I will copy a couple of definitions from The Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson (not to be a stickler or term-Nazi or anything like that )

Medallion Grips: Grips with a S&W logo inset into the upper portion. …
Escutcheon: The knurled nut in the right side grip that receives the grip screw.

No doubt you will also read posts where people insist on using the word "stocks" instead of "grips" (I usually do that myself) but the above is quoted from the reference, and I am not so high and mighty that I am going to "correct" the authors.

 

[DWalt]

That type of grip medallion was in use from approximately 1911 to 1920. Often referred to as the "deep dish" gold medallion. S&W wood grips throughout the 1930s until WWII also had medallions, but they were silver and not recessed. What is the serial number of your revolver?

 

[axehandle]

Corrected the terminology. Serial number is 44,xxx. Grips have a number on them. It does not match the gun.

 

[goatsnguns]

Here is an easy one: When for sale, if they are under $100 they are grips, if over $100 they are stocks....HA!

 

[DWalt]

44xxx would make a 1910 shipment most probable, based on my SN list. 1909 is possible.

 

[glowe]

You have an M&P model, properly known as a 32 Winchester Hand Ejector, Military & Police, Model 1905, 1st or 2nd Change?? They were made from 1906 to 1909 in serial number range 22,427 to 45,200. Your revolver should have shipped around 1909 making it a 2nd Change as you stated, BUT if there is no patent date on the rebound slide, it is technically a 1st Change.

Apparently, there were no records to determine the exact year when the model changed from 1st to 2nd. One strong possibility is that these two models intermixed and that there was a transition between the 1st and 2nd Change over these 4 years.