S&W Engraved Model 19

[Liberty5601]

I own a S&W Model 19 combat masterpiece, .357, 1.5” or 2”, can’t remember barrel length, think it’s 1.5”. Anyway, it’s Nickle finish, with 100% engraved coverage, the hammer, trigger, and I believe the cylinder pin are gold plated, I don’t see a engravers mark and was curious if someone could tell me how to identify if this is a factor engraved revolver or if smith sent it out in the white to be engraved elsewhere, or if this is a ‘Smith Custom Shop Revolver’. I took it in on trade back in 2000 on another revolver I had ‘colt SAA in 32:20. Is there marking on frame under grip or somewhere to help identify these questions, also, ball park value if someone cares to evaluate. I was not fortunate to get the presentation box, it was damaged, so I declined to accept the box. Picture is included, Thanks In Advance.

 

[bobsguns]

Based on first impression. I highly doubt that was a factory engraving job. I guess maybe to one paying for that could've requested the sun burst (or whatever that is) rather than Smith doing it on their own. But who knows?

My .o2

 

[Liberty5601]

The inside of the cylinder crane is stamped ‘ C1 ‘ and the number of 73959 below the C1.
Serial number on heal of butt plate starts out ACV####. Cylinder pin, trigger, cylinder latch, are hammer are gold embellished. Any other suggestions to identify custom shop or factory engraved, Smith Trademark is in left side of frame.

 

[Liberty5601]

The inside of the cylinder crane is stamped ‘ C1 ‘ and the number of 73959 below the C1.
Serial number on heal of butt plate starts out ACV####. Cylinder pin, trigger, cylinder latch, are hammer are gold embellished. Any other suggestions to identify custom shop or factory engraved, Smith Trademark is in left side of frame.

I just checked online S&W Historical Foundation online, at this point, any pistols within serial of AAA-00001 to ZZZ-99999 is currently unavailable

 

[BabaBlueJay]

Holy smokes, that is a gorgeous job done by the engraver. It is at minimum AA grade, and depending on the depth/intricacy of the engraving around the logo which is hard to make out, it could even be in the AAA grade range. I would err on the side of caution and assume a solid AA grade, mainly due to not knowing the engraver/tool/rarity. If this is something that was done as a limited edition run (which I suspect, given the gold accented parts), that would be less valuable than a one-of-a-kind custom job. With the limited information I have I would guess that a gun in this condition with AA grade engraving would be worth around $2,500 (keep in mind this could drop to around 1,500 or even less if this was an extended run). The long and short of it, evaluating value is a crapshoot and to be honest I would not know how to find out who did the engraving without some sort of signature but I do not see any on this. The other problem with engraved guns is they are a niche market, many people avoid them altogether as "flashy" or "unnecessary" and even those who covet them are often after a certain design or engraver or renowned previous owner.

In any case, best of luck and in the meantime you own in my opinion an absolutely stunning Model 19!

 

[Liberty5601]

Holy smokes, that is a gorgeous job done by the engraver. It is at minimum AA grade, and depending on the depth/intricacy of the engraving around the logo which is hard to make out, it could even be in the AAA grade range. I would err on the side of caution and assume a solid AA grade, mainly due to not knowing the engraver/tool/rarity. If this is something that was done as a limited edition run (which I suspect, given the gold accented parts), that would be less valuable than a one-of-a-kind custom job. With the limited information I have I would guess that a gun in this condition with AA grade engraving would be worth around $2,500 (keep in mind this could drop to around 1,500 or even less if this was an extended run). The long and short of it, evaluating value is a crapshoot and to be honest I would not know how to find out who did the engraving without some sort of signature but I do not see any on this. The other problem with engraved guns is they are a niche market, many people avoid them altogether as "flashy" or "unnecessary" and even those who covet them are often after a certain design or engraver or renowned previous owner.

In any case, best of luck and in the meantime you own in my opinion an absolutely stunning Model 19!

Thank You for you input, sadly, S&W Historical can not provide info on this piece as per their website issue with ‘ 3 alpha followed by serial number ‘ is currently unavailable for pistols between 1983 & 2013, but thanks again for your input

 

[Eddietruett]

That’s one of the strangest mixture of style I’ve ever seen. I’m betting is not factory. Everyone has their own taste so I can’t fault the designer, but I’m personally not impressed

 

[Liberty5601]

Thanks for your input. I’ve got an older Colt SAA that someone did the same to it, engraved and gold plated, I’m not much into the mixture but was hoping to get insight into if it was factory smith engravers or a package deal on custom gun request, I was hoping someone had info on serial ‘ACV####’ if that would point to a custom engraver or company outside Smith. Respectfully, Liberty5601