Question

[rrogers642009]

I am considering buying a S&W Pre- Model 10 in .38 Special
It is a 4th variant of the 1905 Military & Police

It has 905 stamped into the bottom of the rear backstrap.

The letter from Smith & Wesson said it was delivered to the Weed & Co. Hardware Store in Buffalo N.Y. in April of 1930

Does anyone have knowledge as to who would have bought it (police, security, prisons).
I thought that police dept. usually had their prefixes stamped in along with a number?
I was hoping maybe a prison since I work in one
How could I research this since the company went out of business in 1968?
Or is it a lost cause?

 

[DWalt]

It's most probably a lost cause. But the number stamping would suggest some institutional or law enforcement use at one time.

 

[VM]

IMO, most LEO guns were shipped directly to an Agency or a LEO Distributor.
I would not bet on "905" as being anything related to Law Enforcement.
I think determining what 905 means would be like finding needle in haystack.
(my opinion based on hdw store).

Can you post a good picture of the stamping?


edited to add:
I neglected to pay att'n. to the 1930 ship date.
Probably weren't alot of FFL dealers then that specialized in LEO.
A quick google search states that Weed was a large Dealer for Colt Firearms.
Would still like to see stamping if you can and out of curiosity, what is asking price?

 

[DWalt]

Hard to say. 905 is most probably an internal property inventory number. In addition to possible LE use, it could be something that an industrial security guard might have used, possibly prison guard, game warden, private security agency, etc. Your guess is as good as mine. A number alone does not provide much to go on. The "Model of 1905" nomenclature has not been used by S&W since before WWI, but some S&W collectors still do.

 

[rrogers642009]

Five hundred

 

[rrogers642009]

IMO, most LEO guns were shipped directly to an Agency or a LEO Distributor.
I would not bet on "905" as being anything related to Law Enforcement.
I think determining what 905 means would be like finding needle in haystack.
(my opinion based on hdw store).

Can you post a good picture of the stamping?


edited to add:
I neglected to pay att'n. to the 1930 ship date.
Probably weren't alot of FFL dealers then that specialized in LEO.
A quick google search states that Weed was a large Dealer for Colt Firearms.
Would still like to see stamping if you can and out of curiosity, what is asking price?

Five hundred

 

[DWalt]

It's a little premature to say $500. There were no good pictures provided to assess condition and originality. It could reach $500 if in excellent and original condition, but that would be unusual. It would also depend upon how and where the sale transaction occurred. To a gun shop or pawn shop, maybe only $200-$250 would be offered. You would expect more from a private sale, and perhaps the most from an online auction.