need little info on a top break da 32.cal

[broncoxls]

here is what i believe to be a 2"barrel top break da.family hand down my granfather found it in the attic of a house being brought down many years ago he never shot it but im beging to think that it is some thing odd being it is a 2" barrel S&W da i was told they were made this way in few numbers is that true?and is there a value for this gun any help would be great and it does need some work the ejector star has broken and i have a replacement but dont know how to go about changing it oh yea all numbers match on the original parts any ideas what to do

 

[broncoxls]

here is what i believe to be a 2"barrel top break da.family hand down my granfather found it in the attic of a house being brought down many years ago he never shot it but im beging to think that it is some thing odd being it is a 2" barrel S&W da i was told they were made this way in few numbers is that true?and is there a value for this gun any help would be great and it does need some work the ejector star has broken and i have a replacement but dont know how to go about changing it oh yea all numbers match on the original parts any ideas what to do

 

[OFT]

Welcome to the forum.

I don't know a single thing about break tops but hang in here and someone will come a long who is a lot smarter than me to help you out.

 

[deadin]

Going to need the serial number off the bottom of the butt and a picture of the inscription on the barrel rib.
Also, it looks like it has been refinished. (The trigger, trigger guard and hammer should be blued.)

 

[broncoxls]

I will work on that tonight my camera will not go that close and clear and my eyes can hardly read the pat dates.pat'd oct.2 1880,aug.1885,apr.9 1889 serial #256xxx is the best i can tell at this point hope its more help thank for any help at this point

 

[deadin]

I'm not as interested to what the the patent dates are as I am to if the inscription is complete and centered between the front sight and the top strap.

 

[broncoxls]

i hope this helps i understand what youre looking for now

 

[broncoxls]

this is tha sad side of the gun the side it sat on for who knows how many years in the eve's

 

[deadin]

This is getting to be more of a mystery. The serial number on the butt belongs to a .32 Double Action 4th Model, but the barrel configuration with the markings on the right side seems to be from a hammerless "Bicycle Gun".
Please check the exact barrel length (measure from the front of the cylinder) and look carefully on the back of the barrel extension, (under the top latch) for another serial number.
There also shoud be a serial on the back face of the cylinder.
The hard part in evaluating it is that it has been non-factory refinished. It doesn't look like it was heavily buffed, just replated. Too bad they also plated the trigger, hammer, latch and trigger guard. (all should be blue.)

 

[broncoxls]

hmm the number under tha latch is identical to serial number only with the letter B added and the barrel is exactly 2" the cylender chamber id the same as the rest of the numbers exept it is one number lower in the series to the serial number now you can see the wonder i have getting interesting ?

 

[deadin]

Well, I learned a long time ago that never say something doesn’t exist when it comes to S&W. Saying that, I will say that your gun doesn’t exist. At least in any of the books.
The frame is definitely a .32 DA 4th. It’s the barrel that is giving me problems. 2 inch were supposedly only made in the hammerless models. The side marked patent dates were on the 2 inch hammerless “Bicycle Guns” only. At first I thought that it was just a case of a Hammerless barrel assembled on a DA frame. The problem with this is the contour of the rear of the barrel extension is also different between the two models and the latch shouldn’t match up. The slight difference in serials may point to a “lunch box special” or something someone has modified.
Were the gun mine, I would definitely take lots of detailed pictures and send off to Roy for a letter. Or maybe someone else will jump in here with more informaton.

 

[broncoxls]

if roy is s&w historian i spoke to him on the phone once apon a time and he told me that they did exist but in few number a special order thing and if some other gun smith did this it seems like some increadible smithing back in the day every thing snaps in tight and solid but i feel better knowing that not only i am stumped i dont claim by anymeans to know any thing about s&w guns other than i like shooting them but i did as you have looked in the books and came to the same conclusion aside from a brief call to s&w a while back saying that it is possible they made it special order i will have to go to my friend for his better cammera and get some good pics and send it off to to see if there are papers on this gun in the s&w archives if they say no then i think that there had to be a real good gun smith in the norwalk CT. area and my grapa was a farmer and formed a corp. in order to bid on restoration of local school houses and other buildings on his down time as a dairy farmer my family being one of the four founding family's of Norwalk CT.he never left that area so i know the gun came from that area but its to late to ask more questions being he passed 28 years ago with that said i will take it to the next level and send it to the s&w historian i will let you know one way or the other what they come up with if youre still interested thank you for all of youre help by the way this gun would be cool if its real but i have no attacment to it so i will sell pending more researce i have my papas wings and other such stuff that i know was his and means more to the family than i gun he came across and never shot himself so it will go for bid someday

 

[deadin]

Yes, please let me know what the letter says.
If it turns out to be original (special order) you have a quite valuable little gun. The refinish will hurt it some, but it will still be desirable to a collector.
Otherwise, it's a neat curiosity, but will have no where near the value.
In either case I would suggest an auction like Jim Supica's armsbid.com or armchargunshow.com
as evaluating something unique is very difficult and letting it find its value through auction is the best way to go.

 

[Jellybean]

Regardless of what it is, that is a really nice looking gun.

 

[broncoxls]

i took the grips off today and found they too have the same number on them i will be sending it in for any possible verification in the mean time thank you for all the help it may not be in a book but its on this forum "lol"

 

[mm6mm6]

I was just reading in the S&W bible that these guns are very rare and you never know what versions may or may not have been made. Since they were S&W's "lower end" guns, they changed all kinds of things. The writing on the right side of the barrel confirms the barrel length to be original. I dunno about the hammer and trigger guard though, that sure seems to have been refinished. Definitely worth getting a letter from Roy Jinks on!

 

[opoefc]

Dean & others, The gun seems to me to be one of the .32 DA models, special ordered with a two inch barrel, and later refinished, and that should be how it will letter. These guns do exist. The late Jacque Salzedo had one in his collection maybe 15 yrs ago. As said, S&W would probably make you anything you could pay for. I have a .38 Regulation Police, with a 2 in. barrel, ser.# 7XX and a very early 1st Model .32 Safety with a 2 in. barrel ( 1st .32 Bicycle gun made) - both factory work, special ordered. I'm thinking this .32 DA is what it is - a special order. The letter should confirm that. Ed.

 

[deadin]

Ed,
If it is a special order shouldn't the serial numbers on the various parts match?

 

[opoefc]

Yes, they should match (except for factory errors) and sometimes they can have no serial number on some parts and still letter. You see a lot of Club guns ( zero numbered guns) with no serial numbers on some parts, because they were all special orders made up individually as a one gun creation, and keeping the parts together, by serial number, as the gun was made was not necessary. Did I miss something above about the serial numbers on this gun? I thought he said they matched except the cylinder was one number lower??? ( or something like that) Ed.

 

[broncoxls]

YES THAT IS CORRECT ALL THE NUMBERS MATCH EXCEPT THE CYLINDER IS ONE NUMBER LOWER AND A LETTER B COMES AFTER THE SERIAL NUMBER UNDER THE LATCH ON THE BARREL YOU GUYS ARE GREAT NEVER NEW SO MUCH STUFF COULD HAVE HAPPENED AT THE FACTORY I CANT WAIT TO GET THE PICTURES TAKEN AND SENT OFF TO S&W FOR ROY TO LOOK AT