[Upriver]

I picked up this 17-2 the other day, just as a beat around target revolver and grouse gun. I've been working on cleaning it up and checking for rust, as the shell recesses were full of powder, and I still haven't gotten it all out from above the forcing cone.

Anyway, the fellow that had it said it had once been owned by the West German Olympic Team. I didn't think much of it at the time (or pay much for it) but after looking at it more closely there are some odd proof marks on the frame above the crane, and adjacent on the barrel.

I'm attaching pictures - but have no idea how to go about finding more about this revolver - I bought it as a shooter, not a collector. The serial # is 5526XX which I think puts it between '61 and '68.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

U

[SDC]

It's definitely been proofed in Germany; the cross-hatched shield is the stamp of the Munich proof-house, and German law says that any firearm sold in Germany has to be proofed in the country. They started using that particular mark in 1968, according to https://store.bluebookinc.com/Info/PDF/Firearm/Proofmarks.pdf

[rcmodel]

For $30.00 you can letter it with S&W.
They will tell you the date it was shipped, and where it went, as well as any factory options it had.
http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CustomContentDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=11101&content=25301&sectionId=10504

Probably money well spent as it will almost always add value to the gun if there is anything special about it, like going to the German Olympic Team.

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j219/rcmodel/KTOG/1224.gif
rcmodel

[Upriver]

Wow, that was fast, thanks. I'm trying to do a little research as well - from Wikipedia, it looks as though the proof that's on the barrel and frame may be the coat-of-arms for West Germany - the other mark looks like a "64" inside of a shield.

I wonder if S&W would have records of who this was sold / shipped to.

U

Edit: thanks RC, apparently we were posting at the same time.

[rcmodel]

It's very likely S&W sent the gun to a big U.S. distributor, not direct to Germany. However, they have always had distributors in most of the free world.

But you'll never know without a factory letter.

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j219/rcmodel/KTOG/1224.gif
rcmodel

[Upriver]

From the proof marks link that SDC gave, it looks like:

The first mark is the W.German universal nitro proof for smokeless guns,

The basket is the Munich proof house (as SDC described),

The shield with the "64" is the year of manufacture. It's odd though, as the proofing house mark indicates "since 1968."

Letter...

[rcmodel]

Serial # K5526XX appears to have been shipped from the factory in late 1963.
That would probably be in keeping with the 1964 German acceptance proof.

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j219/rcmodel/KTOG/1224.gif
rcmodel

[Jim K]

Note that the books state that the Munich proof mark was "since 1968"; they don't say there was no Munich proof prior to that, only that there has been one since then. Of course, the proof only means the revolver was placed on the market in (then) West Germany in 1964. The story of use by any Olympic team, unless proven by something else, remains a story.

(FWIW, the 1964 Olympic games were held in Tokyo, not Munich; the terrible "Munich Massacre" was in 1972.)

Jim

[Upriver]

Hey Jim,

Thanks for the clarification. I figured it'd be hard to track who it was sold to even if I got a letter from S&W. Most importantly, it cleaned up well and shoots like a champ.

West Germany did win shooting medals in the 68 summer Olympics, though...:o

Anyway - the history of a gun going from the USA, to W. Germany and back is intriguing - too bad there's probably no way to really figure it out.

I'll probably write S&W for a letter for fun, just to see if anything turns up.

Anyway, thanks for the info folks.

U