Do factory nickel plated revolvers have the letter "N" stamped somewhere on the frame? Today I saw a pre-model numbered Hiway Patrolman nickel plated that just did not look "correct".
Nickel plate
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Hair Trigger
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A factory nickel gun should have a "N" on the rear of the cylinder, the extractor star should be blued, and the hammer and trigger should be color case hardened. On the left side of the butt frame should also be a stamped "N" near the bottom.
SCSW says there were 5 made in satin nickel finish as sales examples for Adolph Blaick, Inc., and 25 nickel guns with FHP stamped, shipped in 1959, serial range S189071 to S192687.
SCSW says there were 5 made in satin nickel finish as sales examples for Adolph Blaick, Inc., and 25 nickel guns with FHP stamped, shipped in 1959, serial range S189071 to S192687.
Not always, but usually an "N" would be stamped on the back of the cylinder and on the lower left of the frame's grip area. If S&W plated a blued revolver, the grip frame would usually be stamped "RN". Factory nickel plated Model 28's are very rare items, but there are far more aftermarket nickel plated 28's and some sellers may try to pass them off as factory original. By the way, FHP's special order nickel plated Model 28's also had 5 inch barrels.
Your original question is too broad, unless you are only interested in pre-WWII N frame from a very narrow time-period. Every reply was thinking about a certain time in the history of a 160 year old company, so you need some context. As posted above, every answer is wrong for certain eras and right for certain eras of guns. For example, in the first many decades of the Twentieth Century, no guns had an "N", only blued guns were stamped "B". There were eras of manufacture when the cylinder star was plated, while the center was not. RN did not indicate only a blued gun was plated upon return to the factory, since nickel guns that were factory replated also got the RN stamp, but again not all eras of factory refinishing used an RN, so many caveats exist here.
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The OP did say it's a pre-model number Highway Patrolman, which would have been introduced in 1954 and model numbers introduced in 1957, so it is a pretty small sliver of time and after WW II.
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OP
I checked the revolver again, and it has no "N" any where too be seen. Hammer and trigger both plated. I am confident, with nickel wear on the cylinder that it is not a $750 revolver.
With the H&T plated, guaranteed that is not a factory finish without wasting time on more research.
S&W did not plate hammers or triggers, so that is usually a big indicator of an aftermarket plating job. With nickel being worn away, it's either been used a whole lot or the plating was a cheap refinish and is now failing. I'd walk away from that one too.
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I have very early Baby Chief's (1951-1952) that is Factory Nickel. It has an N on the grip frame as it should but the cylinder which BTW is correctly numbered to the gun, is not stamped. I know the cylinder is original as it was my Dad's gun bought new and has the Serial No. on it.
I have also noticed that S&W does not always stamp a marking on the gun when it was refinished. Over the years I have had a few friends send in their revolvers for rebluing and there are no markings indicating so. Lesson learned, no matter what is supposed to be, there are always exceptions to the rules.
I have also noticed that S&W does not always stamp a marking on the gun when it was refinished. Over the years I have had a few friends send in their revolvers for rebluing and there are no markings indicating so. Lesson learned, no matter what is supposed to be, there are always exceptions to the rules.
