Model 1 and Model 4

[Kenpo5]

Good afternoon,
My father recently passed and I received his firearm's collection. amongst his collection were 2 Model 1's and 2 4th model Smiths along with several other older model Smiths. How do I gather information on these firearms? I believe the model ones are 32 cal. and the 4th models are 38 S&W. Serial #s #28866 and #108809 both are in very good condition.
The 4th model S&W's are also in amazing condition Serial # 156281 has original box and cleaning brush as well as an original box of ammunition. The second 4th model serial #253494 it looks brand new.
Im looking for year made and est value.

Any help would be appreciated
Thanks Kenpo 5

 

[wlw-19958]

Hi There,


Welcome to The Group!

We like pics. Please some posts of your new collection!


Cheers!
Webb

 

[Heinz]

Welcome

Welcome to the S&W forum. You have come to the right place for your information, but I am not the right guy. They will be along. The more photos you can post the more information the experts will be able to give you. I see you have have figured out how to post a photo. I think you can post up to 4 photos in one post. And the you can add on a second post as a reply to your first one . You will note that each post gets an ID number in the thread so it makes it easy to identify which photo is being referenced.

Also note that the forum has a classified section that is a good place to sell guns if you decide you want to dispose of some of the collection

 

[Kenpo5]

Thank you both so much, Webb I had 5 pics attached but must have done sumthn wrong lol

 

[Kenpo5]

Try this again lol

 

[mrcvs]

The .38 Safety Hammerless in original box is worth $500 to $800. What’s the serial number?

The others are worth less than $500 each.

 

[glowe]

Welcome to the Forum. Let's first name your revolvers. There is no Model 4. Your images (L to R) show:

#28866 Model 1, 3rd Issue (22 Short), shipped around 1870
#108809 Model 1, 2nd Issue (22 Short), shipped around 1866
#156281 38 Safety, 4th Model (38 S&W), shipped around 1902
#253494 38 Safety, 5th Model (38 S&W), shipped around 1925

 

[Kenpo5]

Thank you so much all! very good information. Serial Number is in text
Thanks Gary for the info , are the shipped dates based on serial #s, where did you get the info? I was searching everywhere until I saw the forum. I mistitled the heading, if you noticed in post I called it the 4th Model.

 

[mmaher94087]

I believe the serial number "#28866..." might be incorrect if it corresponds to photo #3 in Post 5. Photo 3 shows a 5th Model .38 New Departure (.38 Safety Hammerless).

 

[glowe]

I am not certain, but I assume #28866 should be the Model 1, 2nd.

Kenpo5, there were databases available many years ago on an old Yahoo S&W site that I use. You are correct that there are no publicly available sources around today, however some are available if you are a member of Smith & Wesson Collectors Association, but not many models are covered.

 

[mmaher94087]

"... and the 4th models are 38 S&W. Serial #s #28866 and #108809 both are in very good condition." A little clarification is needed, but I still believe Pix 3 is a 5th Model. It has a forged front sight.

 

[glowe]

I now see that the front sight shows no sign of a retaining pin, so maybe forged as the 5th Model had forged front sights? If there is a missing digit on the end or the 28866X, it would fit the 5th Model serial number range.

 

[Kenpo5]

Serial Number on 4TH model

Here is the serial number

 

[glowe]

I am afraid that the serial numbers are confusing as noted in your first post. Could you tell me if the post where I identified the 4 revolvers is correct or not? The MOP 38 Safety number is correct as you stated, so falls into the 5th Model range

 

[Kenpo5]

Serial Numbers for Model ones

Here are the 2 Ser Numbers for model 1's

 

[glowe]

Well I guess that first post was confusing! Your 103XXX is a 2nd Model that shipped around 1866. The 3rd Issue, 28XXX shipped around 1869-1870. I assume the other two guns are correctly identified now. I edited my post #7.

 

[altbrewer]

Gary, the model identification in you post #7 are correct as edited, but the text does not correspond to the order of the photos in post #5. The First Model, second issue is the leftmost photo in #5, while the third issue is the second photo.

Mike