Smith & Weston Regulation Police in 32SW from 1944 for $550?

[RussellD]

I found a nice looking Smith, and am wondering if this is a good deal or not?

I looked it up in the catalog, and it wasn't very helpful.

Here is the description and the only picture I have seen.

"gun was made in 1944, in good condition with some wear on metal, wood grips are in good condition"

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

[RussellD]

Update he misposted the firearm. Its a 38spcl

 

[murphydog]

Two issues. First, it is a Regulation Police, but in .38 S & W (not Special). Second, these were not being produced in 1944; the factory was still making Victory Models as fast as they could turn them out. Of course, never say never with S & W, but highly unlikely for them to make this during WW II. If the stocks are original they are from the 1930 decade but could also have been used after the war as NOS items.

It may very be a $550 gun, but others who know the market for this model better can comment. Hope this is helpful.

 

[RussellD]

The firearm is stamped

"Regulation Police" Under that "38 S & W CTG"

He sent me a few more pictures, so hopefully this helps identify. I appreciate your response. I see that it is 38 S&W CTG not a 38 SPCL

 

[DWalt]

There was no RP production between 1940 and 1949, so it should not be from 1944. In that condition, $550 is not terrible.

 

[DCWilson]

You need to know the serial number in order to date the gun semi-correctly. Make sure the seller gives you the number from the forestrap of the grip frame, and if you are really careful ask him to confirm that the same number is found on the rear face of the cylinder and the flat underside of the barrel.

I don't think this gun was made any later than early 1940, which would put it right at the end of prewar .38 RP production. It could also have been made in any year of the preceding decade.

If that's the original finish (and I have no reason to think from that one photo that it is not), I would value the gun around $425-450. I would go higher if it had its original box and accessories, but $550 strikes me as optimistic on the seller's part.

Alan is correct that the gun cannot be a .38 Special. No small-frame S&W was issued in .38 Special until 1950. All I-frame .38s are five shot revolvers in .38 S&W, a shorter and slightly less powerful round (but still nothing to sneeze at).

The .32 and .38 Regulation Police revolvers are not charismatic models like the postwar K-Masterpieces, but they do have a bit of a following among some collectors.

 

[RussellD]

"SN# is 10785 there is no leter in the sn, gun was made in 1944, that is stamped in the botom to the grip caps."

*Edit This is what the seller said to me regarding the firearm.

Does this mean early Pre-war with wrong grips?

Any thoughts from this?

 

[murphydog]

There were 54,474 of this model made from 1917 to 1940, so a 1920s ship date seems likely, and the stocks would be later replacements in that case.

I am not sure what the seller means by "stamped in the bot(t)om to the grip caps" but S & W never stamped a production date on their guns. He may be referring to a rework date on the left grip frame (under the stocks) that would have indicated a repair, usually in a month.year format (like 6.44 meaning June 1944). An earlier version of these stocks was stamped on the bottom with a 1917 date, but that is not 1944. A mystery.

 

[DCWilson]

Still something wrong. RP 10785 would have shipped about 1919, but the ejector rod configuration we see in the pictures was not used before the very late 1920s.

You need to confirm that the reported serial number came from the forestrap of the grip frame. Many people think the serial number is what is stamped on the hidden surface of the frame that becomes visible only when the cylinder is open. That is true in recent decades, but numbers found there in prewar models are process control numbers that have no meaning once the serial number is stamped on the grip frame and secondary parts of the gun. Again -- grip frame, rear face of cylinder, flat underside of barrel. That's where you will find the true serial number.

A possibility: IF the gun went back to the factory for a repair it could have been rebarreled and refinished in 1944 -- but then you would expect to see a star after the serial number on the grip frame. The rebarreling would explain how the gun got a later ejector rod configuration on an earlier gun.

True RP stocks from 1919 would have had a 1917 patent date stamped in the bottom of the left panel. The actual stamp reads PAT. JUNE 5, 1917 (I think, doing this from memory.) But by the late 1930s that stamp was no longer used. I don't know of a 1944 stamp on any S&W revolver.

Still a bit of a mystery.

AFTERTHOUGHT: Should have mentioned this earlier, but the small logo on the left side of the frame is usually not found on frames manufactured after 1936. From early 1937, S&W revolvers were manufactured with large logos on the sideplate. Guns with the smaller logo that were made up and shipped after that date would have been based on older marked frames being used up.

 

[H Richard]

If it's any help, S/N 2786X was shipped Dec 1925. It has the no medallion stocks from that period, with the June 5, 1917 pat. date on the bottom of the grips.

 

[Hondo44]

Because it's a pre war gun with a satin finish and other anomolies, barrel, stocks, etc., I think it might be a 1944 rework. That could be where the seller is getting the date but I would ask and confirm that. A missing star is uncommon but not unheard of.

 

[RussellD]

I asked; the SN matches in all three places.

I am still perplexed about this particular firearm. Does anyone think 550 is a deal? I know he has some wiggle room on the piece.

 

[DCWilson]

$550 is not a deal given the questions about its authenticity.

If it has been refinished and remanufactured, which I am coming to think is a real possibility, I would not value it above $300-350.

 

[DWalt]

Is that a "Made In U.S.A." stamping on the right side? It looks like it. I agree the SN attributed to it would be late teens, and if so, there should not be the "Made In U.S.A." stamping on it unless it is post-1922. Could it have been stamped on the frame during a rework? I did not earlier notice the ejector rod, but that indeed is an issue. It seems more and more that there may be problems in originality. And if so, price.

By the way, there is one of these with a slightly later SN in Antiques, here: http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-antiques/298314-brand-newb-w-38-s-w.html I think it is the real McCoy.

 

[DCWilson]

Because it's a pre war gun with a satin finish and other anomolies, barrel, stocks, etc., I think it might be a 1944 rework. That could be where the seller is getting the date but I would ask and confirm that. A missing star is uncommon but not unheard of.

Yes. And I agree about the star, which can be a sometime thing. I have a Pre-29 without a star but with date and factory refinish stamps on the grip frame from about 15 years later.

 

[DWalt]

I think the seller has lots of 'splanin to do before anyone parts with $550. Too many inconsistencies. I'd like to have it myself, even if it is not original, but for a price more like $350 or less. That's just because I like things in .38 S&W.