Lazy "&" symbol for dating ?

[John1125]

Is the lazy & symbol a set in stone way for dating a smith? And if so what are the dates and when did they go to the more upright &?

I was thinking 67 and before ,is that correct?

I just saw a serial that would be in the 63 range and had the small upright "&"

Thanks guys ,

Kirk

 

[sodacan]

It's called an ampersand, and there are some good threads on the subject. You can use the search engine on the forum to find them.

 

[JP@AK]

Is the lazy & symbol a set in stone way for dating a smith?

Absolutely not. If you search the threads as suggested, you will find out why. I wrote a lengthy post about this sometime back, as have others.

 

[Sevens]

I can't even begin to imagine the difficulty in using this forum's search engine to find definitive answers to "ampersand" discussion. It seems possible for sure, but unlikely to be easy.

I can say that the ampersand in use in the Model 52 is an oddball, because the earliest pistols (the Model 52 no-dash) doesn't typically have a lazy ampersand in the slide markings... but the 52-1 almost always does. Then the lazy ampersand goes away in the dash-2 series.

 

[Jack Flash]

There was an Expert Commentary (See forum title bar / menu) on Lazy Ampersands, but when I go to look for it I just get the Windows "Cannot Display Page" message.


Edited to add:
I went to the Forum Office and found out the Expert Commentary pages are down while maintenance is being performed on them.

 

[Jack Flash]

Here is a link to a thread where Doc44 talks about the various ampersands:
http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-ha...uestion-about-symbol.html?highlight=ampersand

If Doc44 sees this thread, perhaps he will comment further.

 

[Doc44]

Ampersands "in general terms" can be used to date S&W firearms manufactured in 1950 and later. The ampersands roll marked on the left side of the barrel in Smith & Wesson are a little less variable than the ampersands roll marked on the right side of the frame. The problem is there are variations that occur within time periods that confuse the issue. It is difficult to explain without taking up a page or two, and even then, I am sure there are some variations I am not aware of.

Bill

 

[Skwirl]

I like this type.
It shows a uniqueness.