BTW... the S&W is still probably the most collectable, though you'll likely pay more for them in the 1st place...
this is a S&W in 38 S&W, top break & a "lemon squeezer" the picture hides alot of its faults, but it's over all a pretty nice gun... I don't particularly like shooting this model... it's longer in the grip frame area, which I find I don't prefer... the "squeezer" function is very light & IMO, doesn't change the shooting charictoristic... just don't like that extra length between the back of the cylinder & the front of the grip...
my preferences here don't seem to hurt the collectability though
BTW... the 38's seem more a bit more rare & carry a higher value than the 32's with all the guns of this era...
& the 22 rim fires are harder to find in good shape & can carry a higher price... probably for at least these 3 reasons
they got shot more, & guns in this era were often of marginal quality in the 1st place, it was not uncommon to "wear them out"
the smaller bore & chambers were harder to clean, & the 22's often belonged to younger shooters... the black powder 22 rim fire cartridges that alot of these were made for, was corrosive, so lots of them look pretty abused
there is no chamber difference between high velocity 22 lr & the old black powder cartridges, so alot of guns that were design for realitively low pressure black powder 22 cartridges got subjected to modern 22 cartridges & the actions, the hinges & or latches on top breaks, or even the cylinders have been destroyed...
I had to look for quite a while before I found a "good deal" on a top break 22... this is my US Revolver ( made by Iver Johnson ) that is in really good shape, bore is perfect... it still cost me more than most of the other guns in this part of my collection...