S&W model 60 38 Special

[Golphin]

I looked at a model 60 today that has been nickle plated and I believe after factory. Clean looking revolver, 2" barrel or almost 2" anyway. Hammer has not been bobbed. I know I did the sin of not taking a picture as I was not going to buy it but now I keep thinking about it. It is at a pawn shop and they had a 450. price on it and the guy said he would sell it to me for $400. without me even asking for his best price. What do those that know feel the price range on this revolver is?

 

[alwaysoutdoors]

Who would nickel plate stainless? Are you sure its not just polished? If not "refinished", 400 is not bad. I would jump at $400 for a nice model 60 .

 

[Golphin]

It is nickel plated for sure. It looks clean. I wonder if it had some police department marking on it and someone plated it to cover those or if someone just likes shinny guns.

 

[five shot]

If shiney is the reason it would be cheaper to polish the stainless.

 

[Golphin]

The guy at the pawn shop said it would have a certain letter on the cylinder if it was factory nickle and the one on this revolver was a V and he said it would not have been factory.

 

[kaaskop49]

Too many irregularities for me. Proceed with caution or not at all. I vote not.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

 

[Alk8944]

It is nickel plated for sure. It looks clean. I wonder if it had some police department marking on it and someone plated it to cover those or if someone just likes shinny guns.

No, not for sure! I don't see that the dealer represented it as Nickel, but only that you assumed it was because it was polished bright and he did nothing to dispel your error. Correct?

There is absolutely no purpose to Nickel plating a stainless steel gun. S&W for certain never has done this! There is a distinct difference between the appearance of Nickel and that of stainless steel, or Chromium. Stainless can be polished bright and can be difficult to tell from Chrome, but it will never resemble Nickel! Both Chrome and stainless have a hard, cold, gray to white color. Nickel on the other hand has a slightly yellow, "soft", and somewhat "warm appearance. Put them side-by-side and it is easy to tell them apart! Whether the two are matte, brushed, beaded, or polished bright makes no difference, one is "cold" looking and the other is "soft" and yellowish.

"I wonder if it had some police department marking on it and someone plated it to cover those....." Nickel plate is not paint! It is an extremely thin, in the micro-inch (millionths) range. It will not cover any sort of marking or flaw. It is so thin that plating a blued gun does not require re-fitting the sideplate! Even a microscopic scratch in the base metal before plating will still be equally visible after plating.

 

[murphydog]

Good news: many stainless S & W cylinders had a letter V stamped on them, so if this is original to the gun it confirms it is a model 60. If it is mechanically sound, $400 (or less) is not a bad price in the current market.

Bad news: now you have to go back, check it is stamped MOD 60 and post photos . Only you can decide on the shiny issue.