LNIB Model 469

[The bucket]

Injust picked up a Like New in Box Smith 469. One mag has never been out of the Wax paper. It's serial number is TAB9992. One of the older post says the Spec. Order is the date, but that number is 4251. I don't know how that could be the date.

Any clue on the year of manufacture

 

[cmansguns]

Do not worry...........your gun is not from the future! If you try to use a Julian date converter usually found on line the number 4251 will show up as February 20, 2042 but todays Julian dates are interpreted as YDDD and no longer YYDD so 4251 now means 4 = Year which would be 1994, and the 251 st day would be September 8 so your gun = September 8, 1994.

Of course...my best guess. To find out for sure you need to send for a Letter.

 

[The bucket]

Do not worry...........your gun is not from the future! If you try to use a Julian date converter usually found on line the number 4251 will show up as February 20, 2042 but todays Julian dates are interpreted as YDDD and no longer YYDD so 4251 now means 4 = Year which would be 1994, and the 251 st day would be September 8 so your gun = September 8, 1994.

Of course...my best guess. To find out for sure you need to send for a Letter.

The gun was not manufactured after 1989

 

[Sevens]

Julian dates are interpreted as YDDD and no longer YYDD so 4251 now means 4 = Year which would be 1994, and the 251 st day would be September 8 so your gun = September 8, 1994.

Oh man you did sooooo well and got so close.

September 7, 1984. And 7th (not the 8th) because 1984 was a leap year.

 

[Sevens]

To add a thought that I left out and should not have...

The four digit Spec Order number leads with the last digit of the year. In this case, 4. That could be 84, 94, 2004... and it is up to us to determine which decades by the model and things we know and things we see . In this case, the model itself tells us 1984 as the 469 and all 2nd Gens were long done by 1994. For those of us who have dug up a lot of info on boxes and end labels, the lettering font used on this end label also clues us in that it's 1984 and not 1994.

If you were to contact S&W by phone or e-mail with this serial number they will most likely return a date to you that differs slightly. S&W tends to offer the date they shipped it to a distributor and this date is when the pistol was finished and boxed, ready to go. There have certainly been occasions where this date differs drastically, but typically these dates will be close. It's also worth pointing out that many or most of us are interesting in when the gun was MADE, so the date it was shipped out may be somewhat less relevant.

And then there are the folks who will go to lengths to tell you how much they don't care, they just want to shoot the gun, they throw out boxes, they think we have lost our minds, etc etc. All is well. I myself find these details extremely interesting. To me this is like modern archeology.

 

[toddimusnimski]

And then there are the folks who will go to lengths to tell you how much they don't care, they just want to shoot the gun, they throw out boxes, they think we have lost our minds, etc etc. All is well. I myself find these details extremely interesting. To me this is like modern archeology.

Yes! I love having the original box, papers, and whatnot that it left the factory with. I was on the fence about a 669 listed here a few years back and decided to pursue it when the seller posted that they had found the box for it, all complete and stored carefully.
I also find myself wanting to complete a gun by finding at least a correct era box, plus papers that are dated close to its shipping date. No modifying of the SN of any labels, but I have found them with the first several digits matching. It will never be the original box but I can imagine them possibly sitting on the same shelf awaiting shipment back in the day, and I reckon that'll do.
BTW has anyone decoded what the 691 would be on the OP's label, in the top left corner?
Todd

 

[The bucket]

To add a thought that I left out and should not have...

The four digit Spec Order number leads with the last digit of the year. In this case, 4. That could be 84, 94, 2004... and it is up to us to determine which decades by the model and things we know and things we see . In this case, the model itself tells us 1984 as the 469 and all 2nd Gens were long done by 1994. For those of us who have dug up a lot of info on boxes and end labels, the lettering font used on this end label also clues us in that it's 1984 and not 1994.

If you were to contact S&W by phone or e-mail with this serial number they will most likely return a date to you that differs slightly. S&W tends to offer the date they shipped it to a distributor and this date is when the pistol was finished and boxed, ready to go. There have certainly been occasions where this date differs drastically, but typically these dates will be close. It's also worth pointing out that many or most of us are interesting in when the gun was MADE, so the date it was shipped out may be somewhat less relevant.

And then there are the folks who will go to lengths to tell you how much they don't care, they just want to shoot the gun, they throw out boxes, they think we have lost our minds, etc etc. All is well. I myself find these details extremely interesting. To me this is like modern archeology.

I love this information as well thanks so much for describing it in such great detail!

 

[Sevens]

BTW has anyone decoded what the 691 would be on the OP's label, in the top left corner?

I have never heard any explanation for that one but I would love to hear it. It might well end up being some kind of control number that doesn’t end up having much meaning later, much like some of the assembly numbers we see on revolvers.

 

[roundels]

To add a thought that I left out and should not have...

The four digit Spec Order number leads with the last digit of the year. In this case, 4. That could be 84, 94, 2004... and it is up to us to determine which decades by the model and things we know and things we see . In this case, the model itself tells us 1984 as the 469 and all 2nd Gens were long done by 1994. For those of us who have dug up a lot of info on boxes and end labels, the lettering font used on this end label also clues us in that it's 1984 and not 1994.

If you were to contact S&W by phone or e-mail with this serial number they will most likely return a date to you that differs slightly. S&W tends to offer the date they shipped it to a distributor and this date is when the pistol was finished and boxed, ready to go. There have certainly been occasions where this date differs drastically, but typically these dates will be close. It's also worth pointing out that many or most of us are interesting in when the gun was MADE, so the date it was shipped out may be somewhat less relevant.

And then there are the folks who will go to lengths to tell you how much they don't care, they just want to shoot the gun, they throw out boxes, they think we have lost our minds, etc etc. All is well. I myself find these details extremely interesting. To me this is like modern archeology.

KISS really is dead and buried...and I'm not talking about the band. Look up Omega's current model number system for the ultimate example of this.