Need info on books..

[Norwegian collector]

Dear sirs.

I'm a gun collector from Norway (Europe). I was wondering if there are any books that list the serialnumbers of Smith & Wessom revolvers for each year of production? (The period of interest is 1857 -1899)

I know there are several Colt books that list the serialnumbers for each year, but have not found this in regard to Smith & Wesson revolvers.

And before you ask, I already have "Smith & WEsson 1857-1945" by Neal & Jinks and "Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson" by Supica & Nahas. They are not accurate enough. I ask because of strickt european gun-laws, and the need to document production dates.

Thanks

 

[Norwegian collector]

Dear sirs.

I'm a gun collector from Norway (Europe). I was wondering if there are any books that list the serialnumbers of Smith & Wessom revolvers for each year of production? (The period of interest is 1857 -1899)

I know there are several Colt books that list the serialnumbers for each year, but have not found this in regard to Smith & Wesson revolvers.

And before you ask, I already have "Smith & WEsson 1857-1945" by Neal & Jinks and "Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson" by Supica & Nahas. They are not accurate enough. I ask because of strickt european gun-laws, and the need to document production dates.

Thanks

 

[handejector]

Welcome aboard.
There is no such book that would be legally accurate.
You could obtain a shipping date for an individual gun if you become a member of the S&W Collector's Association.

 

[Norwegian collector]

Sadly, that will not help me as I need to identify the production date prior to buying and importing the gun.

But thanks.. I will just have to hope someone writes the book some day..

 

[handejector]

Originally posted by Norwegian collector:
Sadly, that will not help me as I need to identify the production date prior to buying and importing the gun.

But thanks.. I will just have to hope someone writes the book some day..

Yes, it would. If you can get the serial number and identify the model correctly, the historian will give you a shipping date.

Such a book will probably never be written, because S&W serial numbers seldom follow a chronological sequence. Such a book would have to list the serial numbers one by one, and give each a shipping date.

 

[Guest]

You still might consider becoming a member of the Collector's Association. You won't be our first member from outside the US.

 

[BUFF]

Roy Jinks wrote a book published in 1977 called "The History of Smith & Wesson." It may have what you need. It is the source of most of the serial number and production information contained in Supica & Nahas's "Standard Catalogs of S&W" for the guns made before 1977. It's about as close a publication as there is to get the information you seek.

You can also call Smith & Wesson's customer service folks directly. They can often tell you when a gun was shipped if you tell them the model and serial number.

 

[cflier]

I'll expand on Lee's reply. If you join the S&W Collectors Association you can go to the association web sight and ask Roy for a shipping date if you know the model and serial number of the older S&W. Usually Roy will supply the information within 24 hours. You can not get a shipping date from the S&W factory unless it is a modern firearm. That would solve your problem and a bonus is tons of S&W information and dealing with a great group of people.
best regards,
Mark

 

[Norwegian collector]

How far back can they find shipping dates and/or production dates? As far back as the 1870s and 1880s?

 

[cflier]

I have gotten them as early as 1859. I have recieved many in the 1870s 1880s, and 1890s. Roy has all of the early shipping information. It is not 100% certain that he will have each gun, because a few of the records are unreadable and a few guns are listed as open in the books. But, the huge majority of guns show a shipping date.
Mark

 

[SRT]

Originally posted by Norwegian collector:
How far back can they find shipping dates and/or production dates? As far back as the 1870s and 1880s?

Shipped July, 1876

Shipped December 16, 1881

 

[MikeyL]

Norwegian Collector: As my antecedents came from Norway, "Velkommen!" Just to add to the discussion, S&W often made frames in batches, and literally dumped them in a box or a bin, and then used them up over time. Ergo, you might have two guns with consecutive serial numbers, but they could have been shipped months or even years apart. The shipping date (and serial number range) is generally used by S&W collectors to document the weapon. Hope this helps!

MikeyL
"Life's tough. Tougher when you're stupid." -John Wayne