Need help dating a early M38

[smithfelty]

My brother-in-law has bought a S&W  Bodyguard blue finish , 2" barrel, maked airweight on the barrel and M38 stamped on the yoke. Serial # is 6???   Can't remember the exact number but it is a four digit number and he lives 200 miles away. When I looked it up in the Standard Catalog Of S&W 2nd. Edition it says that stamping of model # didn't begin till 1957 serial # range between 66000 to 786544 and produced circa 1955-1999,which does not make sense that it is a four digit #. Does anybody know what year it was made and value? He bought it from a lady who said it belonged to her dad. She does not think that he shot it and he bought it new. The box and paper work is long gone and she wanted it out of the house. As I said he is a couple hundred miles away and I did not think to get a picture, I thought I could look up the number and date the gun. Thanks for any help.

 

[DCWilson]

If the four digit number came from the frame adjacent to the MOD 38 stamp, that is not the serial number. You need to get the number that is stamped on the butt of the gun. If the butt is the source of the number, possibly one or two digits were simply not read because they were lightly struck.

The basic uncertainty about the numbers you mentioned is that there were no four-digit pre-38s. If your brother-in-law can look at the gun for you and redescribe the numbers he sees and where he sees them, we can probably resolve this in a moment.

 

[Engine49guy]

A Model 38 made after 1983 would have a alphanumeric serial like ABC 1234 could there have been 3 letters before the 4 numbers?

 

[smithfelty]

That makes more sense , I should have looked the gun over better, but I didn't have my glasses with me. I will call him and see if he can look at the butt. Thank you!

 

[smithfelty]

Just called my brother in law, serial # is J1655** which I have at 1969? Value wise I am thinking 450-500.00 the gun is pristine , no turn ring, not a mark on it or the wood grips, a real gem.

 

[DCWilson]

A little closer to the mid 1970s, I think. I would give it a value of at least $400, possibly rising to $500 because of its condition. Pity it doesn't have the box and accessories, because those would really have lifted the value to a collector.

Remember that there are regional variations in gun prices. Californians and Alabamans may like a gun equally but value it quite differently based on local experience.