The early 80s were a transitional period when S&W stopped pinning the barrel, yours was built before that time. For example, I have a model 10-8 from 1979 that has a pinned barrel, and another 10-8 from 1981 that does not. I think by 1982 all the new Smiths no longer had the pinned barrel. The Smith experts here will better explain it.
You have your gun in the right forum. If you look in front of the cylinder where the barrel screws into the frame, there is a tiny little pin that goes through the frame and barrel to keep the barrel from rotating. That is what makes it a pinned barrel, and thus put into this forum.
The variations of S&Ws can be mind boggling to the uninitiated, so don't worry about not knowing about them. Do some reading here, and you'll pick it up right away. Purists look at Smiths according to the era in which the gun was built. This is probably a crude simplification, but it's a start. Pre-WWII S&Ws are probably the most desirable from a collector point of view, then early post-war versions. In the late 50s, IIRC, S&W started giving their guns a stamped model name in the frame. So, for example, the Military and Police revolvers became known as model 10s. The ones built prior to the change to a model number are considered more desirable than the ones from the numbered era. In the 80s, the transition between pinned and non-pinned barrels makes another split. Pinned barrels are more desirable than non-pinned, for the collector. Then there is the MIM era and the safety lock era. Confusing enough? Well add into the mix the incredible minutia that subdivides things, and it gets really complex. S versus N serial numbers, so on and so forth. The argument is that the older the gun, the better the fit and finish as Smith & Wesson tried to remain competitive by reducing the reliance upon skilled craftsmen and became increasingly automated, while removing unnecessary features that just took time - such as pinning the barrel or recessing the cylinders.. Later, they changed the materials used which caused a stir. And so it goes.
A person who is strictly a shooter, on the other hand, may not care at all! I probably just did more damage than good, but you have a good looking pinned barreled model 10.
