What model and how old

[mercman]

Hi guys, I have been offered the following S&W which the seller tells me is of wartime manufacture.

serial number 471249, 5" Barrel, fixed sights, 5 Screw, Smith & Wesson on left side of Barrel, *38 S&W CTG* on right side of Barrel, Address on top of Barrel and Lanyard loop on Butt.

I would like to know the model, D.O.B., and if it is a wartime piece if possible.

Les

 

[DCWilson]

That looks like a British Service Revolver. It chambers the .38 S&W cartridge, which is not the same thing as the .38 Special. These guns are also called .38/200 or K-200 revolvers because the British used a 200 gr bullet in the round.

There is something wrong with that serial number, which would identify a gun from the 1920s. Features on the gun you have point to manufacture not earlier than the late 1930s or perhaps early 1940s. Is there a V in front of the number you cite? Does the serial number appear also on the rear face of the cylinder and flat underside of the barrel? I would expect a serial number beginning with 6, 7, 8 or 9 if there is no letter prefix.

Edited to add: The stocks are postwar, by the way. Prewar stocks would be smaller and have inset silver medallions if checkered.

 

[opoefc]

I see things that make me question this guns originality. The serial number should have a "V" prefix, stamped the other side of the butt swivel. Is it there? If so, it's part of the serial number. 471249 , w/o the "V" prefix, would date the gun to the mid 1920s and there are features I see that tell me the gun is not a 1920s guns but a gun probably shipped during WW2 that has been refinished, perhaps. the serial number stamping is a hand stamp, not the original S&W factory die stamp. Are the stocks numbered to a gun? (They are a later version than the gun's made date) Does 471249 appear on all the correct places on the gun? (Cylinder, barrel & frame?) What are the fitters, assemblers and inspectors stamps on the grip frame? What evidence is the seller presenting to date the gun to WW2 era? Ed. Ed

 

[mercman]

The number is on the underside of the Barrel, there is a different serial number (816129) on the rear of the cylinder. No "V" anywhere. The numbers on the barrel and cylinder appear factory while the frame serial number appears to be hand stamped. The bottom of the frame at the right hand side has the letters I, A and V stamped around the grip retaining pin, on the left side is the letter S, the right hand grip panel has the number 471249 stamped upside down above the grip locating pin hole and the number 291403 set out in a square pattern just beneath the medallions fixing disc. The Medallions are silver.

The seller didn't give any evidence to age he just said "as far as he was aware".

Les

 

[DWalt]

Very suspicious about the SN stamped on the butt. I'd walk away from it at any price.

 

[mercman]

Thanks for the info guys, I think I'll give it a miss.

Les