Model 60 no dash - date help?

[firefighterjohn]

I just put a nice Model 60 no dash, 1.875" barrel, Pachmeyer stocks, pinned barrel and firing pin on hammer on layaway at LGS. Gun only: no box, paperwork, or original stocks for an OTD price of $555. I couldn't let it go; it just got traded in today. I know it wouldn't have lasted long. The serial number is R7138n and the tag said made in 1970. Can anyone help verify this is the correct mfg date?

This will be my 3rd "J" frame but my first Model 60. Great, my S&W infection has spread to now include the "J" variant....lol

 

[TJm15.38]

My 3rd Edition Standard Catalog of Smith and Wesson says Model 60 serials between R001 and R30000 were produced in 1969.

 

[firefighterjohn]

My 3rd Edition Standard Catalog of Smith and Wesson says Model 60 serials between R001 and R30000 were produced in 1969.

Thanks TJm15.38, I appreciate you looking that up for me. Once I take it home, I'll post a couple of pics.

 

[two-bit cowboy]

Congrats on your new stainless Chiefs Special.

The two closest Model 60s in the database that bracket yours suggest a late '72 ship date for yours.

R6635x shipped in July 1972, and

R7766x shipped in April 1973.

 

[firefighterjohn]

Congrats on your new stainless Chiefs Special.

The two closest Model 60s in the database that bracket yours suggest a late '72 ship date for yours.

R6635x shipped in July 1972, and

R7766x shipped in April 1973.

Thanks two-bit. So the Model 60 is a stainless Chiefs Special? I didn't know it was referred to that way.

It's a nice one and I think it was a decent price; especially in today's market but I haven't done comparable GB searches yet. But, it doesn't matter much really...I didn't have one, wanted it and it wouldn't have lasted there long.

 

[two-bit cowboy]

Yes. The attached photo is S&W's preview ad in the company's August 1965 report to stockholders. Notice there it doesn't even call it a Model 60. The company introduced the Model 60 at the October 1965 International Association of Chiefs of Police conference in Miami Beach, Fla. (Thanks to Dr. Jinks for the photo and details.)

The marketing guys added the apostrophe to Chief's. Probably helped create much of the confusion in the model's real name in today's circles.

I think you did well on the price.

 

[6PointStar]

Not to hijack this thread but while you have the book open does anyone know when mine is made. Serial number AAZ142*. I think I bought it back in 1983. Thanks

 

[Sully8548]

Not to hijack this thread but while you have the book open does anyone know when mine is made. Serial number AAZ142*. I think I bought it back in 1983. Thanks

Unless I'm missing something I do not see AAZ listed in the 4th edition catalog.

 

[Sully8548]

Nice find. Here's my 1980 version.

 

[H Richard]

My no dash Mod 60 was shipped May 1976, #R16635X.

 

[kraynky]

Wasn't the model 60 one of those rare model numbers that were made in both 38 special and .357 magnum?

I'm aware that a .357 can shoot 38's, but I was thinking some model 60's were 38 special and some were .357 magnum.

Sure wish I'd found that one for $555! In either caliber! Great price in today's market!

 

[two-bit cowboy]

Thirty-one years after S&W introduced the Model 60 in 1996 the company changed the J-frame to the J-Magnum frame. That's when some Model 60s and several other J-frames were available in .357 Magnum.

 

[murphydog]

Not to hijack this thread but while you have the book open does anyone know when mine is made. Serial number AAZ142*. I think I bought it back in 1983. Thanks

With the understanding production dates can be very different than a ship/sales date, or when a gun appears in a store for purchase, late 1982 seems about right for this gun being made.

If you have the original box with end label, we can give your gun's age pretty exactly.

 

[6PointStar]

Unless I'm missing something I do not see AAZ listed in the 4th edition catalog.

Thanks for looking! I did go double check the serial number and it is correct!

 

[two-bit cowboy]

Unless I'm missing something I do not see AAZ listed in the 4th edition catalog.

The messieurs Spica & Nahas published the information available to them at the time. We've learned a lot since 2016.

AAZ likely shipped in 1983.

AAR has the earliest known ship date -- December '82 -- for a Model 60 in the new alphanumeric serial number series.

 

[KalamazooKid]

Yes. The attached photo is S&W's preview ad in the company's August 1965 report to stockholders. Notice there it doesn't even call it a Model 60. The company introduced the Model 60 at the October 1965 International Association of Chiefs of Police conference in Miami Beach, Fla. (Thanks to Dr. Jinks for the photo and details.)

The marketing guys added the apostrophe to Chief's. Probably helped create much of the confusion in the model's real name in today's circles.

I think you did well on the price.

Thanks for that tidbit Bob, the ad is cool (and now saved).

Mine from 1967 is definitely a favorite!

 

[charlie sherrill]

As a rookie cop I bought one new around 1970. I paid around $120.00 at the time and they were very hard to find. I used it mostly for a BUG and carried it a lot off duty. My wife joined the PD in 1974 and used it for about 10 years, until she was killed in the line of duty. I still have it and my son has been instructed to never get rid of it after I'm gone. A few years ago I found an old S&W .32 cal revolver at a yard sale that someone had put Crimson Trace grips on. I paid $150.00 for the revolver and the grips. I found that the CT grips fit perfectly on my model 60 and put them on it and stored the original grips. The cats love it. I later sold the .32 for more than I paid and basically got a free set of CT grips. About 10 years ago I found another model 60 just a few numbers away from mine in a pawn shop for $300.00 OTD. I didn't really need it but for that price I wasn't going to leave it there. I had it sitting on a counter top when my daughter came over and asked why I had her Mom's old gun out. I told her it wasn't the same gun and where I got it and she said "well, you don't need two of them" and stuck it in her purse. I didn't argue except to tell her she could not get rid of it while I'm still around to which she agreed. She keeps it with her when she's traveling. I think $550.00 for one today, especially one that old, is a very good price. Mine is one of the most accurate snubbies I've ever shot.

 

[firefighterjohn]

As a rookie cop I bought one new around 1970. I paid around $120.00 at the time and they were very hard to find. I used it mostly for a BUG and carried it a lot off duty. My wife joined the PD in 1974 and used it for about 10 years, until she was killed in the line of duty. I still have it and my son has been instructed to never get rid of it after I'm gone. A few years ago I found an old S&W .32 cal revolver at a yard sale that someone had put Crimson Trace grips on. I paid $150.00 for the revolver and the grips. I found that the CT grips fit perfectly on my model 60 and put them on it and stored the original grips. The cats love it. I later sold the .32 for more than I paid and basically got a free set of CT grips. About 10 years ago I found another model 60 just a few numbers away from mine in a pawn shop for $300.00 OTD. I didn't really need it but for that price I wasn't going to leave it there. I had it sitting on a counter top when my daughter came over and asked why I had her Mom's old gun out. I told her it wasn't the same gun and where I got it and she said "well, you don't need two of them" and stuck it in her purse. I didn't argue except to tell her she could not get rid of it while I'm still around to which she agreed. She keeps it with her when she's traveling. I think $550.00 for one today, especially one that old, is a very good price. Mine is one of the most accurate snubbies I've ever shot.

Charlie, that was one of the most inspiring posts I have read here. I can not begin to imagine what you went thru/are going thru with the loss of your wife. Be proud of how well you raised your children and how you continue to show them how to respect and remember their mother's sacrifice and legacy. Thank you for such an amazing share and the dedication of service for both you and your wife. May that special Model 60, and the other one your daughter now has in her mom's honor, continue to be cherished and passed down thru your family for many generations to come.

 

[Retired W4]

... I found that the CT grips fit perfectly on my model 60 and put them on it and stored the original grips. The cats love it...

If the cats only knew what they were playing with.

 

[cmansguns]

one plain jane; one scratched up

Both gone from my accumulation to Forum Members some 6 years ago, but still fondly remembered:

Plain Jane: Model 60 no-dash, s/n AES 2379, probably 1984.

Scratched Up: Model 60, s/n R 265518, probably 1979, shipped to Benjamin Shostle at his Gun Room Studios Shop in Muncie Indiana. Mr. Shostle was the Founder and 1st President of FEGA (Firearm Engravers Guild of America).