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BHenson1602

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Hello everyone I am new to the S&W site, I believe I have something that is very nice, not sure but I have been to a few gun stores seeking information about this piece, maybe I can get more and accurate information from here.... So I recently bought a- 1938 357 SMITH & WESSON REG MAGNUM, it is PRE 27, 5 screw, NICKEL finish, 5 in barrel, with king sights. Instead of a model #, it says Reg 4196. Any information would be greatly appreciated, I want to know more about what it is that I have exactly. Thanks
 
You have what is known as the Registered Magnum, the first .357 revolver. If the nickel finish is original its a very hard gun to locate with few being made in that finish. Pictures are a must, we need to see this beauty!
 
Welcome!
What you have is a very valuable older S&W revolver.
Pictures would help in evaluating just exactly what you have.
If your intent is selling this gun, I strongly suggest you wait until some of the knowledgeable folks on this site give you a ballpark value as gun shops are notorious for offering below-market prices for old guns if the owner is not aware of what he has.
 
Welcome to the forums from the Wiregrass! You have one of the most sought after S&W handguns. They are extremely valuable if in original condition. Pictures are necessity for the experts to help you further. My suggestion would be to take off the grips and shoot the grip frame on both sides, the cylinder rear face, inside the ejector rod dock, top of the frame showing the rear sight and front sight. Please don't use a cellphone camera to take them. And, take them in good light
 
I am working on pictures right now, I have some on my camera im just working on how to get it from camera to here. Yes the Nickel finish is original, everything is original. Pictures are soon to come im working on it now.
 
Resize the pictures on your computer to 800x800 (or a reasonable ratio near that). You can upload them using the INSERT IMAGE function on the command line of the message box. You can post up to 5 pictures per post.
 
I have taken some pictures on my camera, yeah my cell phone doesn't do any justice for it, :) Give me a few minutes guys and I will have pictures on here.
 
Very strong possibility that it was in a shipment of 16 RM's on Oct. 20, 1938 to the Indianapolis Police Dept.---Reg. # 4200 was in that shipment, So was Reg. # 4191. 13 of the 16 shipped were 5" Nickel.
 
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BHenson1602 said:
Hello everyone I am new to the S&W site, I believe I have something that is very nice, not sure but I have been to a few gun stores seeking information about this piece, maybe I can get more and accurate information from here.... So I recently bought a- 1938 357 SMITH & WESSON REG MAGNUM, it is PRE 27, 5 screw, NICKEL finish, 5 in barrel, with king sights. Instead of a model #, it says Reg 4196. Any information would be greatly appreciated, I want to know more about what it is that I have exactly. Thanks
Click to expand...

Hi-

Ignore the PMs you are getting with offers to buy it.

Do your homework, as guns such as these can bring very very high numbers. As in 10 thousand plus DEPENDING.

You don't have a "run of the mill" Smith and Wesson. You have one of the most desirable and valuable of Smith Revolvers.

First thing you need to do is get good pictures of the gun, with stocks on and stocks off....... all angles, as best as you know how. Outside in natural light on a red towel works good.
If you have never removed stocks, BE CAREFUL as they may be hard to come off. Do NOT hit anything or tap the stocks. You can put the screw in in reverse and jiggle a little. If they do not come off easy and you are not familiar with this, don't play with it.

Send the pics here ( link below) along with fifty bucks

Click this link and download the letter request, it takes a while but well worth it.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=17


Mr Jinks will verify barrel length etc. Best 50 you can spend. Then Find Bill Cross (DOC44) of the historical society here:
Smith & Wesson Historical Foundation

If there is any additional paper provenance available you can get that for a fee also. Again..best money you can spend.

Then, and ONLY THEN, you can start to attach a value.

Original boxes for these guns sell for thousands... for THE BOX.
 
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Welcome to the Forum! A fairly spectacular entrance so far! Pictures are a must, as with anything, condition has a great impact on value. Yours sounds like it is a rare specimen, so it will have good value regardless. The type of grips impacts value as well. It's a big plus if they are original and it's a bigger plus if they are pre-war magnas.

Congratulations on your revolver!
 
CDROBERTS said:
Hi-

Ignore the PMs you are getting with offers to buy it.

Do your homework, as guns such as these can bring very very high numbers. As in 10 thousand plus DEPENDING.

You don't have a "run of the mill" Smith and Wesson. You have one of the most desirable and valuable of Smith Revolvers.

First thing you need ot do is get good pictures of the gun, with stocks on and stocks off....... all angle as best as you know how. Outside in natural light on a red towel works good.

Send the pics here along with fifty bucks

Click this link and download the letter request, it take a while but well worth it.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=17


Mr Jinks will verify barrel length etc. Best 50 you can spend. The Find Bill Cross (DOC44) of the historical society here:
Smith & Wesson Historical Foundation

If there is any additional paper provenance available you can get that for a fee also. Again..best money you can spend.

Then, and ONLY THEN, you can start to attach a value.

Original boxes for these guns sell for thousands... for THE BOX.
Click to expand...

I have not seen a RM box sell for thousand(s) in the past Three Years....Just sayin'
 
BHenson1602 said:
I am working on pictures right now, I have some on my camera im just working on how to get it from camera to here. Yes the Nickel finish is original, everything is original. Pictures are soon to come im working on it now.
Click to expand...

The kids will know how to do it. A teenaged son or younger friend are all up on technology. We are all waiting in anticipation. You may have some thing very special.
 
Some numbers of interest-----------------------------

I had one of the Indianapolis PD guns. Jinks letter stated there were fifteen guns. That said, I don't recall if there were fifteen guns shipped to IPD----or fifteen guns in the shipment mine was in. The letter stated all were equipped with the humpback hammer.

Okay---more numbers:

There were 144 KNOWN nickel guns. 17 of those were 5" with humpback hammer. I (and anybody else with a copy of Jinks' article (The Revolver That Changed The Direction of Handgunning) have the registration numbers of all these guns. #4196 (this gun) is on the list of 5" guns, BUT is not shown with a humpback hammer---suggesting this is not an IPD gun----which a letter will confirm or deny.

Whether it's an IPD gun or not might make a difference to the lunatic fringe collectors of PD guns (vis-a-vis value), but it has no noteworthy impact on the value of the gun.

What does have an impact on the value is condition, and the originality of the finish. Mine was essentially as new-----just to look at it. Just to look at it up close was a different matter. It had the dreaded stars everyplace it had a place----each major piece had a star. There were NO service marks-----NONE. There was a five digit number stamped on the grip frame which could have been a date----actually could have been two different dates.

I took this gun to an SWCA meeting----long ago. My little sign asked for opinions as to the originality of the finish. Only one person responded with anything remotely resembling a significant judgement. That was Gary Garbrecht. His comment: "Ralph, I don't know if this gun has been refinished or not. But Ralph, this is a nickel magnum---you DO NOT want to sell this gun!! You want to take it home and put it on the shelf!" So I did----for awhile. The gun clearly had been refinished---completely rebuilt actually. That fact gnawed on me for as long as I could stand it----and I sold the gun. It has changed hands once since then (that I know of).

In today's market, this is a five figure gun----somebody will pay that---if it's halfway decent. Whether it's just barely five figures, or a bunch more depends on what I said-----------condition and originality. There are 71 5" nickel guns. It would be better if it was an 8 3/4" gun. There are 3 of those!!

Ralph Tremaine

Between my memory and my imagination----and Jinks' article, I'm going to make a pronouncement (Which anyone may choose to dispute----I couldn't care less!). There were FIFTEEN guns shipped to IPD. Their registration numbers were consecutive from 4860 to 4874. As near as I can recall, mine was 4862.
 
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We really need to see those photos, ya know....
5e203599b402c9156539b0b3f350dcb8_zpsa4c95593.jpg
 
Thank goodness this was real.
 
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A RM box (nice one) sold at the SWCA meeting auction in Ohio last month for $1500 or $1600 - can't remember. If that's thousands, then yes.

Charlie
 
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