Identity and Date of Manufacture of S&W Revolvers

I just inherited a:
686-4 (686+)
6"
stainless
adjustable sights
CAW 19xx

Any idea when it was made and value?

The grips are aftermarket. Thanks for any help or info you can provide.
 
This is my first post and I am not sure if I am doing this right. I am asking for help finding the manufacture date of a .38 special I inherited. Pertinent info:

S&W Model 37
.38 caliber
5 shot pistol
1.8" from downstream end of cylinder to end of barrel, 3.4" from far end of cylinder to end of barrel.
grips seem rounded to me (see photo)
grips meet underneath so there is no metal strip on the bottom of the gun
serial number is on the inside of the swing-out (see picture)
serial number is 15471 - there are some additional stamps but I can't make sense of them.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Side 2.jpg Side 1.jpg Mod 37.jpg Serial.jpg
 
Only If Necessary said:
This is my first post and I am not sure if I am doing this right. I am asking for help finding the manufacture date of a .38 special I inherited. Pertinent info:

S&W Model 37
.38 caliber
5 shot pistol
1.8" from downstream end of cylinder to end of barrel, 3.4" from far end of cylinder to end of barrel.
grips seem rounded to me (see photo)
grips meet underneath so there is no metal strip on the bottom of the gun
serial number is on the inside of the swing-out (see picture)
serial number is 15471 - there are some additional stamps but I can't make sense of them.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

View attachment 1077675 View attachment 1077676 View attachment 1077677 View attachment 1077678
Click to expand...
First, welcome to THR!

The complete serial number on J frame guns, which yours is, is located on the bottom of the grip. If you can't see it because of the wood panels, you'll have to remove them. What you can see may be the full number, but better to check under the grip.
 
That is not the serial number, it is a "fitting number" to keep parts together at the factory.
The legal serial number is on the bottom of the butt, visible after taking off the big grips.

All I can tell from looking at it is that it was made after 1966 when they went to the regular thumb piece instead of the "flat latch", and before 1982 when the barrel pin was omitted.
 
Thanks for the information about the serial number location - I did not expect it to be located where you had to take something apart to find it. The number on the metal base of the gun is 684790. I at one time found a table online showing serial numbers by year but can't find it now. I am guessing the date is closer to 1966 than 1982 since I think my Father gave it to my sister in the early 70's.
 
Unfortunately, The Standard Catalog of Smith and Wesson does not break it down year by year, all it shows is that yours falls in the range from 1962 - 1969. The thumb piece says after 1966; so somewhere 1966-1969. I don't know if S&W will pin it down any closer if you phone.
 
Thanks for the help. 1966 to 1969 is plenty close enough for me as a manufacture date. I have some +P ammo that came with the gun. I am not sure the gun has ever been fired, but after reading about the +P I don’t think I will use it if I ever shoot this gun. Especially in this gun’s manufacture date range I don’t think it was intended for +P.
 
For Post 8010,
My "book" says the "AFL" prefix is from 1985.
1985 – AAV, ACC, ACJ, ADA, ADP, ADZ, AEF, AEH, AEM, AER, AEW, AFB, AFK, AFL, AFN, AFR, AFS, AHA, AHB, AHC, AHJ, AHP, AHS, AHT, AHV, AJB, AJD, AJJ, AJH, ALA, ALB, ALC, ALU, ALV, ALW

Supica, Jim,Nahas, Richard. Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson (Standard Catalog of Smith and Wesson) (Kindle Locations 17045-17046). F+W Media. Kindle Edition.
 
Ok so here is a fun one. I reciently bought this revolver from an auction. It has some crazy markings under the trigger that leads me to believe it may have been military issued. Please let me know any information you can come up with.
A) 38 S&W CTG
B) 6' barrel
C) Round
D) 6 shot
E) Don't know
F) 728884 and then a P on other end of butt

full.jpg full.jpg full.jpg full.jpg full.jpg full.jpg full.jpg
 
I am looking at an S&W "airweight" for sale on line.
The number on the butt of the grip is 407xxx
38 special
2" barrel
Round Butt
Seller advertises this as a model 37, manufactured in 1954. Wondering about the year of manufacture?
Thank You,
 
For the OP, here's the info I'm seeing in the "book":

Early J Frame Serial Range Models: 36, 37, 38, 49, 50 and their pre-model versions 1950-1969 1-786544 (no prefix) Approximate manufactured dates:
1950 1
1952 7369-21342
1953 28916
1955 55050-75000
1957 117770-125000
1962 295000
1969 786544

Supica, Jim,Nahas, Richard. Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson (Standard Catalog of Smith and Wesson) (Kindle Locations 16935-16942). F+W Media. Kindle Edition.

OP, only you can see what serial number is on the revolver; and if it's a pre-Model 37, or something else.
-calling the revolver a "37" confuses things;
-saying it's made in the 50s confuses things;
-saying the serial number starts with a "4" with a total of six digits confuses things.

Calling it a pre-Model 37 made ~1965 with a s/n of 4xxxxx would be in agreement with my "book".
 
S&W, K 38, 6" revolver, SN K 2230XX New acquisition, What a lovely revolver, after a few hours with some stones and elbow grease.
Internals were like new, virtually no wear.
 
Date of manufacture please

a) Caliber 32 S&W Long
b) 2 inch barrel
c) Square butt
d) 6 cylinder bores
e) fixed sights
f) serial number H-1458xx
g) Model number 31-1

Thanks.
 
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