S&W revolvers

Antonio Silva

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Good afternoon,
I inherited a set of two S&W revolvers, one caliber 38 SP, model 14 with no. K351792 and another caliber 22 LR, model 17 with no. K 346376, engraved by Paul Jaeger in gold, as per photographs attached. Would you like to know the year of manufacture and the price?

Best regards
António
 
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The revolvers are engraved with oak leaf engraving over the entire metal surface, gold inlay of a panther, on the right, gold inlay of a net following the borders, the grips are in chiseled ivory over the entire surface.
 
Welcome to the Forum, fantastic entrance with those two engraved revolvers. Someone will be along to confirm the years they were built, I don't have my Standard Catalog with me. RKmesa is our guru on engraved guns and he's going to love those, as I do. Values vary considerably depending on how many interested parties are involved. We'd love to see close up well lit sharp pictures of the various parts of the gun. My SWAG at these would be $7500+ each based on the prices I've seen recently for comparable work. RKmesa will have a better idea. Wonderful guns, enjoy.

Jeff
SWCA 1457
 
Nice! If the stocks are ivory as they appear, tack on a few grand more in value.
If the OP isn't a hardcore S&W collector, he just hit a nice payday as I suspect these will be sold quickly.
 
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What a great inheritance. I don't recognize the engraver, but all I have to go on is the book's list of factory engravers. As mentioned, RKmesa should be here soon with answers
 
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I know very little about the engraved S&W guns...but I had a question for those that do...Would they be more valuable as the set, or as individual pieces?

And by the way, they are gorgeous! Works of art!
 
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Send the SNs to S&W and get a letter detailing where they were sold. I think S&W will charge $75 for that.
 
I don't know if this helps, but there was a Paul Jaeger who owned a gun shop in Jenkintown, Pa. He dealt in high end custom German firearms and had a reputation as a first rate gunsmith. I recall he had a good assortment of Smith and Wessons in the shop.
 
Welcome to the Forum! You made quite an entrance with your beautiful matched set of Masterpiece revolvers! IMHO, those are museum quality and a one of a kind set. I would be afraid to estimate their value because those revolvers could be worth an astronomical sum to certain high end collectors. As others have mentioned, several of our Forum experts should be along shortly to provide their comments.
 
Welcome to the forum.

Beautiful Set!!! Most of the Paul Jaeger engraved S&Ws were engraved for Paul in Mainz, Germany by a stable of talented engravers employed by Paul's brother Kurt, foremost of which were Emil and Claus Willig and Gustav Schildbach (the probable engravers of your gun). If I recall correctly in my correspondence with Claus, a lot of the grip carving work was done Adolf Geiss.

I'd love to see some better photos, but they look to be well done. I would peg the value of the set of guns at between $10K and $18K and I would be a buyer in that range.

Jack's estimated ship date of 1959 is about as close as you will get without a letter. Since the engraving was done after the guns left the factory, I expect that the letter will not tell you anything about the engraving.

Another member of the forum had a K-38 Masterpiece that was also engraved by the Willigs.

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You can read a fun thread on the above gun here:

https://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-h...terpiece-pre-model-14-a.html?highlight=Willig

All the best,

Richard
 
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Good afternoon everybody,
Thank you for all the information provided. My true passion is side by side hunting guns, I have some interesting ones. I admire the short guns, but they are not the ones I like the most. In fact, the photos are not very good, I think they caught too much light, what I can say is that the guns are exactly new, as they have always been stored and almost never fired. I attach some photos.
The revolvers are S&W, one caliber 38 SP, model 14, with no. K351792 and the other caliber 22 LR model 17, with no. K 346376. They were engraved by Paul Jaeger, Jenkintown, PA.
The revolvers are engraved in gold and the grips are in ivory.

Best regards
 
Good afternoon everybody,
Thank you for all the information provided. My true passion is side by side hunting guns, I have some interesting ones. I admire the short guns, but they are not the ones I like the most. In fact, the photos are not very good, I think they caught too much light, what I can say is that the guns are exactly new, as they have always been stored and almost never fired. I attach some photos.
The revolvers are S&W, one caliber 38 SP, model 14, with no. K351792 and the other caliber 22 LR model 17, with no. K 346376. They were engraved by Paul Jaeger, Jenkintown, PA.
The revolvers are engraved in gold and the grips are in ivory.
 
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Good afternoon,
I inherited a set of two S&W revolvers, one caliber 38 SP, model 14 with no. K351792 and another caliber 22 LR, model 17 with no. K 346376, engraved by Paul Jaeger in gold, as per photographs attached. Would you like to know the year of manufacture and the price?

Antonio my condolences on your loss.

Family Heirlooms especially those two are priceless. If you are not into firearms you should take them to an Auction House.
 
Good morning,
I had confirmation of the year they were manufactured, they were both manufactured in 1959. I also found the purchase documents made by my father dated 1980. Indeed, the revolvers are a work of art, equivalent to a painting by Pablo Picasso, Van Gogh, etc...
As I don't have any followers in the family, I will most likely sell them, but for a fair price, because whoever buys them will certainly have a guaranteed income, because, as my father said, investing in art is better than having money in the bank, It is true that, in 1980, he paid a lot of money for them for that time.
As someone on this forum mentioned, they are works of art that deserve to be in the possession of someone who actually likes them or in a museum so they can be appreciated. Who knows, maybe someone will come along willing to pay the fair price for both of them and they will certainly make a lot of money in the future.
I have also informed myself from the guns Department in Portugal that it is not difficult to export, as long as the legal requirements are met, such as a gunsmith or private individual requesting the import in the country of origin, sending the document stamped by the authorities of that country and, After receiving this document, I will go to the Portuguese Police to request an export authorization for this applicant. The police issue the authorization and the guns can be sent to the recipient.
I thank everyone in advance for the information posted on the forum and without a doubt it is very healthy to have people who admire the true art of short guns, I personally admire hunting guns (Shotgun and Rifles), being a true hunting lover.
Thank you very much again, let's talk
 
As I don't have any followers in the family, I will most likely sell them, but for a fair price
I would love to own them... They would be a wonderful addition to any collection.
I can think of no finer home for those two beauties than RK Mesa where they are guaranteed to live in excellent company...:)...Ben
 
Or post them on the Classified section here and keep the 35% an auction house will take.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

Our Classified section requires a price. An auction requires bidders. Get two bidders who want them? You might see multiples of what you ww\ould have gotten here. After the premium!

Kevin
 
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