First off, greetings all from Ontario, Canada. I've come into possession of a pretty straightforward S&W DA with a 5" barrel. While cleaning the thing, I noticed two odd stampings on the barrel. From the pics, you'll note that these weren't applied at a factory but obviously hand stamped. I've put a request for any information about them on several forums including the S&W forum. I did find out from the serial number that it came off the line 30 Oct. 1890. It's in superior condition and mechanically excellent and I'm tickled pink to have it. I wasn't sure whether to post this here or in the Curio & Relic forum. These stamps, however, are a head-scratcher. I'm wondering if the "SMI" had a double struck "I" as it overlapped the "M". Pure speculation, but might the "MI" letters stand for "Military Institute"? As to the "C.T.G", is it an abbreviation for "cartridge" and if so, why the capital letters and periods. Might it be an acronym? To forestall any question regarding calibre, I've double checked and it is indeed in .44 Russian. So! Any feedback or input would be most welcome. Thank you.