No serial number on my smith and wesson

D

DaveK58

Inactive
I have what looks like a model one except mine is engraved all over it. I have been trying to find the serial number on it and I don't see it anywhere.
I have looked under the grips as well as under the handle. I have looked inside and out and I don't see any numbers anywhere on the revolver.
Does anybody have an idea where I might find the serial number on it.
It seems not to have one but I know that it is very unlikely. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Dave
 
First off, are you sure it's a S&W? If not, it may have never had one.

If it is a S&W, it should be on the bottom of the grip frame.
 
Prior to the 1968 GCA guns were not required to have serial numbers. While many manufacturers did serial number their guns (for inventory purposes only) others did not. I currently have 2 shotguns that do not have serial numbers. One is a New Haven model 600 (pre Mossberg 500) and a Mossberg 180 410 bolt action. Both were made prior to 1968. A gun as old as a S&W model 1 may or may not have a serial number. Also guns of that era may have been bought by a company or ranch or some other group and had their own inventory number placed on it.
 
357 Python said:
Prior to the 1968 GCA guns were not required to have serial numbers. While many manufacturers did serial number their guns (for inventory purposes only) others did not.
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This is true for other gunmakers, but I am not aware of any S&W revolver model that was regularly produced without serial numbers.

S&W serial numbers before 1968 often overlap between different model ranges, and some 19th-century military guns overlap within the same model because the customer requested the guns numbered by contract rather than by model. [This is the basic reason why S&W serial numbers defy easy explanation and have their own dedicated and stickied thread!] That said, the OP's gun presumably had a serial number when it was made, although that number may not have been unique.
 
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If the gun is fully engraved, it is very possible that the engraver ground off/polished off the serial number before engraving it.
 
Magnum Wheel Man said:
... or could have been a foreign copy, that looks like a S&W
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Excellent point. FWIW I've seen a couple of past threads here and on the S&W forum wherein an engraved "S&W" turned out to be a low-grade Spanish copy, presumably since (a) the customer would likely never fire it, and (b) the gun didn't cost much, so the engraver wouldn't lose much money if he/she screwed up and had to eat the purchase price. :rolleyes:
 
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The No. 1 S&W had serial numbers starting at 1. A factory engraver would never engrave over the serial number, though some engravers, including foreign engravers, often did.

Just a note on engraving. In recent years, it has become common for an owner of an uncommon gun that is in poor condition (rusted, badly worn, etc.) to have the gun engraved. This serves both to cover up the horrible condition and to enhance the gun (and the seller's pocketbook). So it is a good idea for anyone about to shell out big bucks for an engraved gun to learn what engraved guns look like and, possibly more important, what an UNengraved gun of the same type looks like. If the unengraved one has square corners and those on the engraved gun are rounded, you can bet the engraver did not do that.

Jim
 
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