Help With An Old Revolver

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BerettaBuckeye

New member
I need some help with an old top break revolver I forgot I even had.Sorry for the bad cell phone pics but best I can do at this point. It's marked cal.38 on top of the barrel and has a serial number of 39968, other than that I can't make out anything else on it. It does have some other markings but I can't make them out. As you can see it's ugly with some surface rust but the bore looks almost new and the gun looks like it will function if I was inclined to go buy some ammo for it, it's obviously a .38 caliber much shorter than a .38 Special. Not sure if that's some kind of original finish or if it's been refinished somehow...looks like a rattlecan job honestly.
I'm looking for info and approx value if I were to try to sell it , need cash for a new pistol and found this in the bottom of the safe, wondering if it's even worth anything. I think a buddy gave it to me years ago. Any and all info appreciated
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It looks like a Webley Mk IV Service Revolver chambered in .38/200 (which is not 38 Special as you correctly guessed). It will shoot the old 38 S&W cartridge but it won't shoot any sort of modern 38 Special. This was the gun carried by the British during WWII. They are awesome revolvers and real piece of history. Yours probably has what is commonly referred to as the "war finish", which looks an awful lot like someone took some black spray paint and just doused it :p. Believe it or not, it is actually quite a desirable finish for collectors.

Scroll down a little bit on this page to see some more details on it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webley_Revolver

and

http://www.pagunblog.com/2010/01/12/webley-mark-iv-38-sw/

and

http://world.guns.ru/handguns/double-action-revolvers/brit/webley-e.html

Are there any markings on the gun? You should have a number of British proof marks on it.
 
Thanks for the info, that's great. I guess at least now I know what to call it in a for sale ad. Looking more closely I see a "42" on the top strap, a capital "D" also on the topstrap and a capital "DT" with what looks like a star next to it on the frame. Also some kind of symbol behind the trigger on the left side that looks to me like a ...lol...house. Unfortunately with just my Iphone I can't get pictures to show any of these.
 
My father had one and I got to take it to the woods and deer hunting from time to time when I was in high school. Once the double action was mastered, it was kind of a fun gun.

I remember shooting at a tree stump some distance away with the sun at my back one fall day. That was the first time that I'd ever seen a bullet fly through the air. It would hit the stump and then I could hear the impact an instant later. That 38 S&W round was just a tad behind the power curve when it came to velocity. This post reminds me that I never did find out what my Dad did with the pistol. He probably traded it for something else while deployed. Wish I had it today.
 
Ok, so after reading through the info provided by Mike Irwin ( thanks ) I see it's an Enfield No. 2 Mk. I chambered in 38 S&W aka. .38/200. I also now see that the finish on this old warhorse is probably original and by looking online it looks like the condition of this one is probably about average or a little below for what it is. Looking at GunBroker I haven't really learned much as to value, I see similar guns listed between $300 to $400 but with no bids. I can't imagine this one is worth that but does about $250 seem the right ballpark? I'm in the dark here as I'm not an "old gun guy" and I really just need to move this one out. Any advice?
 
It's not a Webley.

It's an Enfield No. 2 Mk I* as is evidenced by the spurless hammer, making it double action only.
Click to expand...

You are correct...

Looks like an Albion...Grips are definitely Albion Motors, Scotland...

Should be right side just in front of the grips...Year will be marked 1941-1942-1943...

Bobbed hammer DA only is sometimes referred to as a 'Tanker'...

I would do nothing to the metal other than buff lightly with Hoppes #9 and 0000 Steel Wool...

http://collectorebooks.com/gregg01/eurorevolver/DSC07149.jpg
 
Here is the Albion that my Mother bought Dad for his birthday in the early 60's...She paid $15 delivered through the mail from some surplus arms seller...Dad kept it near him for the rest of his life, and actually used it to stop a burglary in his home in the late 80's...Held the guy till the cops came, surrendered the weapon, and had it returned immediately...

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It's chambered for the British 380/200 revolver cartridge, aka 38 Smith & Wesson to us Yankees. US made 38 S&W ammunition will work fine in it, because US made ammunition uses a 146gr RNL bullet the POI will probably be off, then again those DAO revolvers are often hard to shoot accurately beyong 15 feet.
 
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