Nice gun.
You can't always go by SCSW. And, unfortunately, S&W can only tell you the date the revolver was sold which doesn't always correspond to the actual mfg. date.
I have Centennial Airweight #3651, also with the 5th screw(strain screw). According to S&W it shipped in 1954 although if you use the info from SCSW it probably was made earlier than that. I feel mine was manufactured a bit earlier than it was sold.
I also have Centennial # 17699 and according to S&W it was sold in 1962, BUT, it has a 4 screw frame which SCSW says was discontinued in 1957.
It appears to me that many times the frames at least were made a good bit of time before the revolvers were actually ordered and sold. And it's marked as Mod 40 inside the crane even though it's a 4 screw frame, so it's really not always easy to determine exactly when an S&W was made, only when it was sold.
Centennials and Centennial Airweights share the same group of serial numbers, running sequencially.
Your new revolver is actually what some folks call a "pre Mod 42" I just call it a Centennial Airweight. After 1957 they switched to Mod #s only and stamped the model number into the crane. Guns sold and shipped prior to 1957 do not have that model number stamped inside the cylinder crane.
At any rate you have a fairly early Centennial Airweight, not too much newer than mine.
As was stated previously in the thread, the original manufacturing serial number range for Centennials and Centennial Airweights, including the changes to Mod 40 and Mod 42 was 1-30160. After 1968 an L was included at the beginning of the serial number and, as a side note, the high horn grips were gradually becoming "less high horn". The L prefix serial numbered Mod 40s and Mod 42s were dropped by S&W in 1974, eventually resuming production as the all stainless Mod 640(no grip safety) in either 1989 or 1990. I think this has been a very successful j frame model for the company, even including a "classic" new production model with the original grip safety retained as a feature. You can use the search feature here to find out more.
As for value, it's hard to say from your pictures but it appears to be in good condition. Let's say it's probably worth at least $450 with no rust on the steel parts, no original box, a good amount of finish left on the frame and grips which appear to be in v.g. condition. I find the recommended prices in the current and older editions of SCSW to be lower than the asking prices I see, consistantly.
Pull the grips off of the gun and see if there is still a grip safety lock out pin in a small recess in the frame which is held by the grip panels(it's often lost), and see if the right inside of the grip has the serial number of the gun written on it.If the grips are original to the gun it enhances value a little bit, but a missing safety lock out pins doesn't seem to decrease value. Edited - genejockey already mentioned the grips serialized to the gun!
I hope you get as much enjoyment from owning yours as I do mine!
