Letter Question New Model No 3

[Mikebiker]

I won this on Gunbroker and it came with the factory letter. It says a special order of 1 and gives a name but no address. Should it have an address? Is this common to have no location? I says delivered to, could that mean handed directly to the individual? The original ad pictures did not show it as renickeled.

 

[larkworthy]

It is fairly common for the archives to not have a shipping address and so it takes a bit of work and luck to backtrack the owner. I briefly owned the revolver you purchased and when I did the research I found this person as a possible match. The last name has two L's but since he was a bishop in Easton, MD (where the letter originated from) I figured there is a good chance he owned it. Good luck on the search! Regards, Lyle

William McClelland (bishop) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[mrcvs]

For Smith & Wesson revolvers, I find more often than not that just a name is listed, and not a location, which requires sleuthing, which is often unsuccessful as it cannot be pinpointed to one individual.

I would file a claim or send back to the seller, as this revolver is definitely renickeled.

 

[shown50]

I’ve got a couple letters that shipped to individuals, all are “no address listed”.
I bid on that revolver as well to use as a shooter, but tapped out after it went past $1200. It’s definitely renickeled in my opinion(side plate seam is the giveaway). The seller has sold it twice that I’ve seen. I’m assuming it was returned the first time because the refinish wasn’t disclosed.

 

[larkworthy]

I won it the first time and returned it due to non-disclosure of re-nickel. I received a full refund (minus my shipping) which I was happy with.

 

[Nagloc68]

Great collector community discussion! If a revolver was renickled at the factory, is there normally a star stamped on the gun to indicate this? Also, if it was factory renickled, would this be discovered in a Factory Letter?

 

[mrcvs]

Great collector community discussion! If a revolver was renickled at the factory, is there normally a star stamped on the gun to indicate this? Also, if it was factory renickled, would this be discovered in a Factory Letter?

Yes normally a star and a two digit month and two digit year stamped on the frame under the stocks. Usually not reflected in the factory letter but the SWHF may have information on the revolver if the work was done between 1920 and 1967.

 

[mrcvs]

I won it the first time and returned it due to non-disclosure of re-nickel. I received a full refund (minus my shipping) which I was happy with.

So, IMHO this is a dishonest seller who has a renickeled revolver and knowingly fails to disclose this information until this revolver sells to a novice collector who overpays for this revolver not knowing enough to realize this has been renickeled.

This is why Gunbroker usually leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Folks trying to unload problem guns without full disclosure.

Friends don’t let friends bid on Gunbroker.

 

[glowe]

Quick check of Ancestry.com found almost a dozen William McClelands born from late 1850s and 1860s, so no chance of a match unless the name is recognized as a old-time shooter. The information in most letters for early guns come from a shipping ledger and almost always shows only the name for special orders and one-off buyers in handwritten notes. The records from the factory are only digitized back to 1920, so difficult to search for invoices, etc. for earlier guns. One option is to give the Historical Foundation the model, serial number, date shipped and see if they come up with any documents? There is a charge for this service, but may find more information? No charge if nothing is found is my understanding.

BTW, the factory would never do a refinish that looked like that one. Edges would be sharp, sideplate fit would have looked like it did when leaving the factory, and no dished pin holed.

 

[mrcvs]

Can a link to this auction be posted as it’s completed?

 

[Mikebiker]

Original Listing

I worked for 40 years at the shop I bought it from. I left under bad circumstances due to personal reasons which I will not go into. They in the past have had some fantastic collectible guns. I bought many of them. The original pictures did not show the renickel very well. I knew it was the second time around. They obviously did not disclose the renickel either the first time or the second. The letter has an address from a section of town I would not expect to see this gun come from. More of a 32 breaktop pocket revolver area. The link to the Bishop is plausible as it could have passed through several hands since his passing. They should never have shown the full name name and address of the letter requester in the listing.

I am certain it is not a factory refinish. I will keep it as it still is not a terrible gun but I do admit I was unhappy when I first saw it and knew it was refinished. I don't know how the price compares to others but many NM No 3s I saw were much higher.

I have listed guns on gunbroker for this shop and others and myself for years and always went out of my way to let the bidders know if the gun had issues of any kind. Still got the prices I expected or better.

 

[wlw-19958]

Hi There,

As far as I know, one can post a link as long as the item
is no longer for sale or the auction has closed.

Cheers!
Webb

 

[SgtDog0311]

Dang you guys are good!

 

[Mikebiker]

The link is at the top of my last post.

 

[mrcvs]

Photographs 8 and 13 tell me this is a refinish. 8, due to a way too prominent sideplate seam. 13, because of a nickel plated ejector star (should be blued). Also, ALL NM #3 revolvers are ANTIQUE and should not require an FFL.