revolver i,d, help

[jo64ohio]

this revolver is a nickel finish 38 special square butt 4 in, barrel round front site it has diamond grips,serial no.333433.it has smith and Wesson on left side of barrel and 38 s&w special ctg on the right side it has patent dates on top of barrel but being nickel cannot really make them out.any help appreciated.thank you.

 

[DWalt]

It's a Military and Police Model. SN 333433 would indicate a probable shipping date around early 1920.

 

[jo64ohio]

thanks,would It also be called a a pre model 10?

 

[lebomm]

No, the "pre-model 10s" were the guns produced between about 1948, when the short action was introduced, and 1957,when the model numbers were assigned. Note that model #s did not replace model names, but supplemented them.

Larry

 

[Absalom]

this revolver is a nickel finish 38 special ..... it has patent dates on top of barrel but being nickel cannot really make them out.....

If you can't make out the dates due to the nickel, the gun may have been nickeled or re-nickeled sometime after it left the factory. The patent dates on original nickel from that era usually show quite nice and clear (see picture below; this gun is a few years older and still has them on the side).

One thing you can do is to check the underside of the barrel, with the cylinder open. There is the serial number stamped on a flat area. If you find a B to the left (forward of) the serial, the gun was originally blued.