Smith and Wesson Letter of Authenticity

You might check over on the S & W site. If I remember correctly - there is no "request" - there is a fee and form that has to be filled out. Roy Jenks is the person who handles that for S & W and I would imagine the "turn around time" is going to vary some depending upon the number of applications for letters that have to be processed.
 
Thanks everyone

The check for the letter cleared my bank the middle of last week so its on its way. Can't wait to read it

Gary
 
Gary, as of today the lead time for a letter from Mr. Jinks is 12 - 16 weeks. There is also a $50.00 fee for this.
 
Just a note on the "authenticity" point. When a gun owner requests a factory letter, he says that he has, say, an S&W M&P, serial number 123456. The S&W historian replies that the factory made/shipped M&P serial number 123456 on June 8, 1908, and that it was blued with hard rubber grips.

But the letter does not prove that the gun owner actually has that gun. If, for example, the gun is actually a Spanish copy, the letter does not make it an S&W, or "authenticate" it as such.

Further, scammers have been known to fake guns, removing the serial number and replacing it with the serial number of a gun owned by some famous person. A factory letter will show that the original gun of that number was indeed shipped to that celebrity, thus "authenticating" a fake.

Jim
 
Howdy

It all depends on how busy Roy is at the time. Sometimes he takes a few weeks, sometimes more. Roy is a very busy guy, he attends conventions and other events that sometimes delay the letter. Also, he is working alone.

When I have gotten a letter from Roy, it has usually started with a bit of history of the specific model, then he lists the configuration of the gun when it left the factory; i.e. barrel length and finish, then the specifics of the date the gun shipped and who or where it shipped to.

A few years ago it only cost $30 to letter a Smith, now it is $50. Wish I had done more when they were $30, but $50 is still a bargain compared to what Colt charges.

Note: S&W records are not specific as to when the gun was manufactured. They are specific as to when the gun shipped. Sometimes guns would be in inventory a while, and often shipped out of SN order.
 
Thanks everyone

I'm a little on pins and needles till it gets here. it will be very Interesting to know where it was shipped to and when.

Gary
 
I need to part with the coin and get one of those letters for one of my revolvers- a 1917 Brazilian Contract. The SN should put the build between 1918 and 1920. It would be interesting to see where it might have been before it went OCONUS.
 
Well, I was incorrect about how ling it took to get my letter. I checked an old thread and it was more like 11-12 weeks to get it.
 
I need to part with the coin and get one of those letters for one of my revolvers- a 1917 Brazilian Contract. The SN should put the build between 1918 and 1920. It would be interesting to see where it might have been before it went OCONUS.
Click to expand...

I thought the Brazilian contract .45 S&Ws were from 1938.
 
I thought the Brazilian contract .45 S&Ws were from 1938.
Click to expand...
I thought so too, but whoever answered the telephone at Smith & Wesson said the serial number puts the production date at 1919. Maybe assembled from old-stock war surplus supplies?
 
S&W serial numbered the Model 1917 (which included both the U.S. Army contract and the Brazilian contract, in its own series. 175,000 went to the U.S. Army (1-c. 175000); the total production is said to be 210,320. But things are complicated by the fact that S&W seems to have re-used frames and other parts from the U.S. contract to fill the Brazilian order. During WWI, the Army contended S&W wasn't making guns fast enough and took over the company. After the war, the Army took all the Model 1917's in work, plus those already shipped and those in the factory. When S&W got the Brazilian contract, it bought 25,000 guns back from the Army to fill the contract. Apparently, those were completed guns, which S&W reworked, but kept the original serial numbers. My Brazilian gun is 1640xx, well down in the U.S. serial number range. The frame has the U.S. eagle on it, and so do some other parts, including the barrel, but the U.S. Property marking has either been removed from the barrel or was never present.

Jim
 
Hey all

My smith & Wesson history letter for my 38 M&P revolver came in the mail today. Seems it was shipped from the factory in 1946 to Klein's sporting goods in Chicago IL. Not bad :-)


Interesting note.. I've been a student of the JFK assassination from the early 70's and Its a little amazing to buy a revolver that originaly shipped to the same place Oswald bought his rifle from.

Gary
 
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