S&WHF Information - Post War Firearms

[Doc44]

The information available on most post war S&Ws usually consists of a factory invoice (sometimes a serial number list is also available). As you can see from the example below on the 44 Magnum, the shipping date of April 2, 1956 is listed as are the date the revolver was ordered and the shipping location. The invoice also shows this revolver was a product sample which I find interesting and of value.

The invoice is also used to verify the features of the firearm when completing a letter of authenticity.

Bill

 

[kwill1911]

Bill,

Is it just me - I can't see the invoice to which you refer. Thank you for your posts about the S&WHF. It seems there is still some confusion about the differences between it and the S&WCA and the letters that each provides. It might also be helpful to summarize what years are now available to be search and what on the "to do" list.

Regards,

 

[Doc44]

Kevin...I see the invoice just fine, so maybe it is just you. A letter of authenticity provides the shipping date, shipping location, and verifies the features of the firearm (barrel length, finish, special features, etc.). The period covered for letters of authenticity (as I understand it) is 1852 to the present day. The digitized and indexed records of the S&WHF cover the period 1920-June 1966. The pre-WW II years contain invoices and a variety of correspondence, whereas, the period 1947-June 1966 are mostly invoices and a very few return and repair records with no correspondence. A Foundation letter consists of a summary cover letter and copies of relevant documents.

The records project as originally defined in 2008 is complete as all of the records housed at the museum in Springfield have been digitized and indexed. We will discuss in Reno what records to digitize and index next (if any).

Bill

 

[Vbk76]

I was just on the swhf site and was just about to ask the same question. Thanks for posting/updates

 

[DCWilson]

Bill,

Is it just me - I can't see the invoice to which you refer. Thank you for your posts about the S&WHF.

Regards,

Kevin, here's the embedded link for the image Bill posted:

http://www.fototime.com/F228E168937CB0C/orig.jpg

If you click on that and still can't see it in its own window or tab, perhaps your browser's security settings are blocking fototime links. I mostly use Firefox when I'm on a Windows machine, and the image showed up inside Bill's post for me. I haven't checked what happens on an Apple tablet or phone.

 

[kwill1911]

Thanks Bill and David. I still don't see the picture in the original post but I can see it on the link. Usually pictures do show up and I see them in Bill's other postings so I'm not sure what is going on. It's probably an operator headspace issue on my part.

 

[cmansguns]

Questions by newbie to SWHF about Letter(s)

Good afternoon SWHF members;

I just last week received my SWHF membership card from Ms. Cheely (Member No. 570) and I am thrilled to be a member of both SWCA and SWHF as I believe in both mission statements and the great group of people on both.

The question I have is that when sending to SWCA for a Letter of Authentication (the Roy Jinks signed type) do we automatically get whatever info may be available from SWHF when we include both member numbers on the request form?

As I currently understand the LOA now costs $65 for Members of SWCA (per gun of course) and I still want that basic info that Roy excels at, but I am not sure if the SWHF additional information would be worth another $65 per gun to me.

Is there a separate form to be used for only requesting any SWHF information?

I do apologize for probably seemingly dumb questions but I do have some "oldies" (1899 US Army 38) that I would like to obtain ALL available info on, and others that it would be nice to know the additional info but if extra costs, I'm not sure.

Either way I have 3 guns ready to send the form now, and three more on top just waiting a fair period after Letter receipt on the first 3, so if any of you can answer the above dumb questions for me, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks for listening

 

[Doc44]

Charlie B...If your LOA is for a revolver shipped in 1947 to 1966, Roy will sometimes include a copy of the invoice for your records. He does not include copies of documents for pre-war guns (1920-1946). You can request a Foundation Letter by going to the website swhf and clicking on Foundation Letter. The cost is $45 for the letter and $5 per each document provided. There is no charge for the search if no documents are found. You need a letter of authenticity first, as the shipping date and location aide in the search.

Bill

 

[cmansguns]

Thank You Bill for clearing the Letter vs Historical info situation up for me.

Now I can get my Letter requests sent out.

Thanks again.

 

[Vbk76]

Excellent posts!

 

[Club Gun Fan]

Good afternoon SWHF members;



The question I have is that when sending to SWCA for a Letter of Authentication (the Roy Jinks signed type) do we automatically get whatever info may be available from SWHF when we include both member numbers on the request form?

Charlie
Just an FYI, Roy and I work for the Smith & Wesson Historical Foundation, not the SWCA. The procedure is you first obtain a letter from us. Once you get that letter, you send a copy of it along with the form for further research to Bill.
Don

 

[LOBO]

What years are covered by the S&WHF?

 

[Doc44]

1920-1966 (soon to add 1967).

Bill