Old S&W top-break

[wolfgunner5150]

Need info on this gun i think it may be a 1917 but not sure.Tell me what you think it is.Only one prob no pic

it says on top of the 3 1/4in barrel
smith&wesson springfield mass.USA
pat'd oct.2 1880 , aug.4 1886, april.9 1880

on the left side of the barrel
38 s&w cto

s&w logo on right side above grips with words "trade mark" around it

it has black rubber grips with the s&w logo on them

it is a hammerless, top-break with a grip saftey

the finish is near flawless nickel with no holster wear and no rust .No wear on grip saftey or the grips themselfs. It looks like this gun was put away after it was bought and stayed there for all these years.

It has a 5rd cylinder

The serial number is on the cylinder it is
192xxx

Any info would be great
THANKS fo your help

 

[Mike Irwin]

Well, it has absolutely nothing to do with 1917, other than it was already a teenager in 1917.

The gun you're describing is a .38 Safety Hammerless Fourth Model, also known as the New Departure or Lemon Squeezer.

There were roughly 104,000 of the 4th models manufactured between 1898 and 1907. Your serial number was probably made somewhere between 1904 to 1907, but that's just an extrapolated guess.

Excellent condition would bring in the $300 to $400 range in Northern Virginia where I am.

 

[Crimper-D]

Drawer Gun

These were the self defense guns of their era, people bought these things and chucked them into drawers along with a box of shells -and there they sat - till now outlived their original owners, sometimes _their_ hiers = never shot. It's amazing how many of these old topbreaks are showing up in good shape nowdays, simply because they were never used - just kept.