Howdy Charger426
I use the same source Pat Riot is using as my go to source of information about Smith and Wesson revolvers, the
Standard Catalog of Smith and Wesson, by Supica and Nahas. I am actually using the 3rd Edition, he is using the 4th Edition. I like the way the information is presented better in the 3rd Edition, but the info we are referring to has not changed.
As can be seen, the Serial number range for S Prefix N frames for 1960-1961 was S207000 through S219999. That puts your SN of S218xxx kind of in the middle. No telling exactly where without knowing the exact SN. No, don't bother posting it if you don't want to, but just to make things simpler I always substitute Xs for the last two digits, not three. Makes things a little bit easier to zero in on.
It says right up front in Appendix 2, the section dealing with Serial Numbers, and I quote:
"It is VITALLY IMPORTANT(their caps, not mine) to realize that it is IMPOSSIBLE (their caps again) to identify the production years of any single gun using these tables alone. Smith and Wesson revolvers were not necessarily assembled nor shipped in serial number sequence. Guns with sequential serial numbers can be found which were actually shipped decades apart. This seems to be especially true of early N frames and the M&P models. At best these tables may indicate probable production era for a particular gun."
Supica and Nahas consulted multiple sources to come up with the data in those tables, but they go on to say the only way to verify exactly when a particular gun shipped is to get a factory letter. Unfortunately, last time I checked Factory Letters have gone up considerably from the $30 quoted in my copy of SCSW. Last time I checked they are $100 now.
Also, bear in mind, if you letter your revolver, the only thing it will tell you, other than where it shipped and a nice history of the model, is when it shipped, not when it was manufactured.
Regarding the information about dash numbers in the section under the Model 27, the dates listed are only years. No clue as to what day and month a particular dash number started. And dash numbers could vary in date across different models. Very generally speaking, as significant engineering changes were made, for instance dropping the number of screws, or reversing the direction of the thread on an extractor rod, it sometimes took a couple of years for those changes to trickle down to all models. So a Model XX might have dropped the 5th screw at dash 2 while Model XY dropped it at dash 3.
My Model 27 no dash, SN S1865XX, left the factory in 1959. The reason I know this is not from the tables, which do verify that information, but because Roy Jinks, the S&W historian told me so.
Interestingly enough, it came with an earlier box labeled The 357 Magnum, from before Model 27 days. S&W never threw anything out if they thought they might be able to use it. This box was originally marked for a nickel plated 357 Magnum but was relabeled to match my blued Model 27 no dash.
