I have an interesting story. My father in law passed away recently. He was 88 years old. He left my son a Smith and Wesson pistol. It says 32-20 CTG on the barrel which is about 5 inches in length. On the top it has Smith and Wesson, Springfield, Mass. USA with a bunch of different dates...the last one being Dec 29, 1914. Made in the USA. It has a gold plated trigger. It is nickel in very good condition, except the gold plate has a few nicks. It has pearl grips with the engraving of an eagle holding an American flag. My husband says, it use to have a small ruby that was the eye of the eagle but it has fallen out.
My father-in-law's mother owned a barbeque restaurant in Beaumont, Texas during the 20's and 30's. It is still there in the family. It's kind of a legend in those parts. Has been there since the turn of the century. My father in law said, one day his mom went in to open up the place and found it had been broken into. Someone had cooked some beef and opened beans. They had also taken some food. Laying on the counter was this pistol. Under it, there was a note that said, if I remember correctly, thanks for the food. We were hungry. Hope we didn't mess your place up too much....Bonnie P.
His mom said, Oh my goodness, that's those white kids going around robbing and shooting up the countryside. (my father-in-law is half Indian and creole)which I guess is why she mentioned color.
I saw the note and the pistol once about 35 years ago. On the bottom of the handle is the number 117922.
It is in such good condition, I wonder if it really was made around that time or if he was just pulling my leg. We are in the process of going through almost 90 years of paperwork. That man kept everything. We haven't found the note yet but it has to be there.
Does anyone know if this is something that should be insured? Or is it a common pistol? When my son comes home from being offshore I will get him to post a picture. I don't know how. But thanks in advance for any information.
My father-in-law's mother owned a barbeque restaurant in Beaumont, Texas during the 20's and 30's. It is still there in the family. It's kind of a legend in those parts. Has been there since the turn of the century. My father in law said, one day his mom went in to open up the place and found it had been broken into. Someone had cooked some beef and opened beans. They had also taken some food. Laying on the counter was this pistol. Under it, there was a note that said, if I remember correctly, thanks for the food. We were hungry. Hope we didn't mess your place up too much....Bonnie P.
His mom said, Oh my goodness, that's those white kids going around robbing and shooting up the countryside. (my father-in-law is half Indian and creole)which I guess is why she mentioned color.
I saw the note and the pistol once about 35 years ago. On the bottom of the handle is the number 117922.
It is in such good condition, I wonder if it really was made around that time or if he was just pulling my leg. We are in the process of going through almost 90 years of paperwork. That man kept everything. We haven't found the note yet but it has to be there.
Does anyone know if this is something that should be insured? Or is it a common pistol? When my son comes home from being offshore I will get him to post a picture. I don't know how. But thanks in advance for any information.
..Not really though. Some things you just can't put a price on.
