New to me, very early 629 no dash / MOD 629

Token

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Howdy all. Earlier this week I picked up a 6" 629 at one of my LGSs. When I bought it 10 days before (thank you California 10 day wait), I really did not look at it at all other than a cursory look to try and corroborate the claims it was "like new, in box, possibly unfired". I just wanted another 629 (but then again, when don't I), and (as I told my wife) it would have been irresponsible not to buy this one considering the price it was listed for ($700, remember I am in California). This gun was part of an estate, and the collection had several firearms that appeared unfired. I ended up getting three of them (the 629, an Anaconda, and a Ruger New Model Blackhawk in .357 / 9mm), all apparently unfired, all roughly like new, in box (the Ruger is minus original paperwork), and at what I consider decent to excellent prices even for average guns.

I did not really look at the 629 all that close. Just picked it up, held it a few seconds, and looked it over for defects / abuse. I did notice it was P&R and that it was a no dash, saying MOD629. So I guessed 1979 to 1982 range as when it was produced. Other than drag marks on the cylinder the revolver looks new.

When I picked the guns up was the first time I looked at the 629 box. Blue cardboard (as I expect for those years) and in excellent condition, with only a few marks from shipping / sliding across the counter (mostly on the bottom). All original paperwork, the Smith and Wesson marked brown waxed packing papers, and the tools were present, as claimed.

However, the box does not have any of the printing on it I expected ("Pistol", "Revolver", Smith and Wesson", roped border, etc). It is the right color blue, but with no printing on the outside. Also, I noticed there was no paper label on the box, and no residue where it appeared a label may have been and had fallen off. To the best of my ability to determine, there has never been a sticker on this box. Inside the box there is an envelope, and in that envelope is the expected sticker and another sticker I have not seen before. The first sticker has obviously been on something before, and the second is cut out of a light cardboard box surface.

One of my wooden cased 29s was originally shipped in a brown cardboard box. If I took the stickers off that cardboard box they would look something like the stickers that came with this 629. But I wonder why it is now in a blue box if it came with a wooden case, or possibly did this blue cardboard box come inside a brown cardboard shipping box?

Looking at the serial number of the revolver, and the box sticker, it is in the first 100 after the initial production serial of N748564.

So I do not know if this is a replacement box, or if it was something Smith did in the early 629 production revolvers. I know all the other 629s I have do have some kind of printing on the cardboard the box.

Outside of box:
173865132.UE1Ft6uH.629_Box_closed.jpg



Box open:
173865134.EdgX3MAD.629_box_open.jpg


T!
 
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Nice early 629. The unmarked blue box is correct as the gun would have shipped in that box inside of a larger corrugated box that would have also included the Mahogany display case. The two labels you have would have been affixed to the outside of the larger corrugated box. It’s nice you have the original labels and tools. A correct presentation case should not be to hard to find and would mostly complete your package.
 
Thanks for the info. I was not aware (none of my 29s or 629s came this way, but I only bought a few of mine new) that they were shipped in a separate blue box when they came with a presentation case. The ones I have appear to have shipped in the presentation case.

I actually have a couple spare presentation cases on hand, but no extra ones (currently) for this 6" version. I think I only have 8 3/8" versions on hand as extras right now.

T!
 
629 no dash

This is the way your gun would have left the factory! The labels you found were on the exterior of the cardboard box,
z6iKw2J.jpg

Some would say "you just found a hen's tooth"!
8Jkalma.jpg

Look close at the first entry in the list of serial numbers on 5 Mar 1980! This pic was taken from aa factory letter by DR. Jinks! AND, you paid $700 for a gun that should have been priced at over 1K! If it was me, I would go back to the shop and give him the $1000 you owe him(for his lack of knowledge)! Well maybe not!
jcelect
 
This is the way your gun would have left the factory! The labels you found were on the exterior of the cardboard box,

<<<<snip>>>>

Look close at the first entry in the list of serial numbers on 5 Mar 1980! This pic was taken from aa factory letter by DR. Jinks!

Thanks very much for the picture of the original shipping configuration, I had never seen that before. While I have several Smiths in wooden boxes, all the ones I have were just in the wooden box when I acquired them and I assumed that was the way they came. I did not realize it was shipped as an empty wooden box, with everything else in a blue box.

I had seen that letter before, I think on this forum when researching the serial number of one of my other 629 no dash pistols. Yes, the one in this thread is a day one production pistol. There was that batch of 100 or 150 pre-production revolvers in a lower serial number batch that do not show on that letter.

Yes, no doubt the price is pretty good. It was marked at $1200 and sat in the shop for the last 3+ months. I had looked at it several times, but was himing and hawing on if I really wanted it or not. He knocked it down (at the request of the consigner) and a couple hours later I walked in. There was no hesitation when I saw the new price.

When people bring in guns for consignment to his shop he recommends prices, as the consigner (especially in the case of an estate) sometimes has no idea of the current market value of weapons. He strives for his recommended prices to be decent and fair to the seller, typically mid market value, but obviously he is not always correct, especially on outlier guns. However, if, after advising a price, the consigner insist on pricing above or below the value that he has advised, that is what it is marked at in the shop. This leads to some interesting pricing, most often on the high side as people think their average stuff is exceptionally valuable, but sometimes on the low side.

Recently a 945 Performance Center (SKU 170173), in aluminum PC case, was marked at $3000 at the cosigners insistence, which I though was an insane price. I thought for sure it was $600-800 over priced. I was sure it would languish for a while before I made a more "realistic" offer. It sold, at the requested price, almost immediately.

T!
 
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The shipping carton shown in the pic was used for the type of liners, in the case, used from 1979-1985. The other 3 type of liners used from 1960-1979 had the gun in the presentation case when shipped from the factory. If memory serves, the earlier guns had serial numbers that started with "629"!
jcelect
 
Model 629, N629193, one of the test Model 629s built prior to regular production beginning in 1980. The major difference between the test guns and regular production guns is the former have a target trigger that is 0.500 inch wide. The second photo is N777036, shipped in September 1980. Click on the photos for a better look.

Bill

doc44-albums-44-magnums-picture977-prototype-model-629-n629193-summer-1978-a.jpg


doc44-albums-44-magnums-picture978-model-629-n777036-september-1980-a.jpg
 
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Model 629, N629193, one of the test Model 629s built prior to regular production beginning in 1980. The major difference between the test guns and regular production guns is the former have a target trigger that is 0.500 inch wide. Click on the photo for a better look.

Bill

doc44-albums-44-magnums-picture977-prototype-model-629-n629193-summer-1978-a.jpg


Is it my imagination, or is the finish of that gun a bit more "frosty" than what they went for in the production items?

T!
 
I added a photo of N777036 (9/80) to my above post. Comparing the two 629s to each other, there is little difference in the overall finish. The difference you see is probably a result the lighting in the different photographs.

Bill
 

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