terrier

[johngarrett]

I started a thread about a week ago and my pc has crashed since. So ill start all over I have a .38 s&w ctg with no model # stamped on the yoke or anywhere else. It is chambered for .38 s&w NOT .38 special. It has 5 screws with a strain screw and serial numbers on the grip frame, barrel and chamber. the sn# is 52***. It also has a half moon sight not the ramp sight seen on most. It has a 2" barrel. Everything on this gun is all original and the numbers all match. On the underside of the barrel there is a letter "B" stamped and then the serial number. I was hoping someone could tell me exactly what this is and also its approximate value? Thanks in advance.

 

[johngarrett]

pics

here is a picture

 

[gunnails]

Your original thread.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-hand-ejectors-1896-1961/348303-what.html#post137585124

 

[DCWilson]

John, I remember that thread because it seemed to die before its time was up. I'm glad you reposted.

You have a somewhat rare prewar .38/32 Terrier, which is basically the .38 Regulation Police with a two-inch barrel instead of four and a round butt instead of square. The Terriers were introduced in 1936 and were manufactured until the company ceased commercial production in 1940 to undertake foreign (and eventually domestic) military contracts. Your gun's serial number indicates possible shipment in 1939, but because of the way S&W managed its inventory it might have shipped late in the preceding year or anytime in the next one.

In the last couple of years these guns have gotten flat-out costly. I think it is dawning on collectors that most Terriers are postwar revolvers and that surviving prewar specimens are hard to find. A couple of years ago I would have told you that a decent to fairly nice prewar Terrier -- 90%, say -- was worth around $500. Now I think such a gun would be pushing (or even exceeding) a thousand, and if a prewar Terrier is in 98-99% condition it will bring more than two.

Here's a link to a recent thread that deals with these models:

http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-hand-ejectors-1896-1961/345176-couple-prewar-terriers.html

Would you be willing to send me a PM with the full serial number of your Terrier? I am compiling a catalog of prewar specimens in hopes that a large enough sample will let us draw some statistical conclusions about production quantity and serial number blocks.

Please post a photo or two if you can. Scarcity can start a gun at a higher price, but high condition will really jack up its value.

EDITED TO ADD: OK, I just noticed you added a photo while I was compiling a response. That looks like about a 90% gun to me or maybe a little better, and based on recent prices I would guess it might sell for $1000-1250. For some buyers that range delivers instant sticker shock and they won't even enter negotiations. You will find other guys who love the prewar .38 I-frame revolvers so much they might go higher even for a slightly worn specimen.

SECOND EDIT: Your gun is, I believe, the 20th example I know of a prewar Terrier. I don't have serial numbers for two of them, or complete serial numbers for two others. I am coming to think that no more than 800-1200 of them were produced in the prewar era.

 

[johngarrett]

Thanks for the info David. Thats pretty amazing about the number produced.

 

[KEN L]

The B in front of the serial number, on the bottom of the barrel, means it was a blued gun when it left the factory.