Year Manufactured? - S&W .38 spl

M

MrBobboh

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Could someone with the S&W handbook please look up the year a Smith & Wesson .38 spl, model 15-4, s/n 34-K489 was manufactured and let me know? Thanks so much. Also, in what range would the value of that revolver be? Thanks so much.
 
The 15-4 was made 1977-81. If you need closer maybe somebody has a serial list and will reply. Assuming very nice finish and a 4" barrel I usually see them around $400-$450. Add if a 2" barrel, add if in its original box. Add if the condition is pristine. Deduct as the finish shows wear.
 
Thank you for your speedy response! Hopefully someone will have the serial number list and can give me the actual manufactured date. Thanks again.
 
Howdy

Are you sure there is a dash in your serial number? And you seem to be a digit short.

According to The Standard Catalog of Smith and Wesson, the serial number range for K frame target revolvers 1978/1979 was 25K0001 through 56K9999. That is as close as I can come with what I assume your serial number is. That does fit into the time frame when the Model 15-4 was manufactured,

That is as close as you will be able to get without lettering the gun.
 
You understand that all the published lists are estimates. The actually shipping date could be off by several years. I have one with what looks like a 1956 serial but letters as shipping in 1960.
 
Yes.

In fact, when you get a gun lettered at S&W, the information you get is when it shipped, not when it was manufactured. Roy Jinks, the official S&W historian, only keeps records of when a gun shipped, not when it was made. Guns may have shipped right away after being built, or they may have sat in inventory for a considerable time before being shipped.
 
Thank you and you are quite right. I was able to see the s/n for myself and it does NOT have a dash plus there IS one more digit. The frame is stamped "34K4891" and below it "MOD. 15-4" There are more markings on the yoke/crane, reading "5547X" and below it what looks like "B16" in a different type and pressure indented depth, but I understand that these are simply production or manufacturing control numbers of some sort. If these numbers can help you to more accurately pin down the date of manufacture, I thank you.
 
Nope. Those are assembly and inspection numbers. They do not help further define when the gun was made. There were several steps involved in assembling S&W revolvers years ago. Part way through the assembly process numbers were stamped on various parts before the parts were sent to other departments for heat treating and finishing. Once the parts were ready for the final assembly those numbers were used to marry up the parts again. If you remove the grips you will probably see more inspection numbers stamped onto the frame under the grips. S&W revolvers used to go through a lot of inspection steps.

Smith and Wesson serial numbers have always been on the bottom of the butt of the gun. There were a few exceptions to this rule, such as the Regulation Police models, that had the SN stamped on the front of the grip frame because the wooden grips covered the bottom of the butt. But those are exceptions. The oldest Smith I own is a #2 Top Break (the Old Army Model). It was made in 1863 and its SN is on the bottom of the butt.

At some point, S&W began stamping the SN on the frame under the cylinder yoke (the hinged part the cylinder is mounted to) in addition to stamping it on the bottom of the butt. I have a Model 14-3 in hand right now that shipped in 1974 and it has the SN under the yoke as well as the underside of the butt.

The range of Serial Numbers for the years I gave you is the closest you are going to get without lettering the gun. At least that is what is published in the most commonly referred to book about Smith and Wesson firearms. There may be more detailed lists someplace, but that is the best I can do.
 
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Thank you, again. I'm very happy with the information that's been provided to me on this forum; I don't feel the need to get a letter from S&W on this (rather) modern handgun as there's no original shipping or other history I'm particularly looking to learn about this revolver. Yes, the s/n is both on the frame near the cylinder yoke (which is where I've been looking at it) and on the butt of the gun. However the butt is "hidden" by a pair of Pachmayr presentation grips that won't come apart! Perhaps someone before me once upon a time used Loctite on the screw and receiver that hold the left and right grips together, but I can separate the base joint apart just enough to see that there's a s/n imprinted there, as well. (I did receive and have the original S&W grips, too, when I acquired the gun.) Any suggestions as to how to get the Pachmayr grips to come apart without damaging anything? Knowing that it was originally made/shipped in 1978/1979 will be good enough for me. Thanks, again, for all your help and patience with me here.
 
Sometimes, once the screw is loose (and if it rotates it's loose, you need to pry the Pachmyer's apart. Sounds like the set you have is hinged at the rear as many are. They separate at the front of the grip. They come off easily once you have the knack.

tipoc
 
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