Bankers Special

[RedStateRighty]

Hello everyone, I am a new member. I was searching the net and came across this forum and have been unable to move for the last 2 hours. What a great forum. I am a modern gun collector who has just inherited a Smith & Wesson Bankers Special in .38 S&W cal., nickel finish in very good condition. A handgun of this age is way out of my normal area of interest. None of my books go back far enough. I have searched the net and my local book store and cannot find anything about this little snubby. I would greatly appreciate any knowledge and estimate of value that anyone may have. Thank you very much.

 

[SDC]

I think we'd need some more information on this particular revolver to give a run-down on it; "banker's special" is a generic term for a lot of snubby revolvers, derived from a pre-war Colt model sold under that name. Frame size, the first few letters/numbers of the serial number, hammerless/exposed hammer, square or round butt, and other info (especially pictures) would help in determining the actual model.

 

[RedStateRighty]

Thanks for the reply SDC. I will try and get a pic done of the gun and write down the SN#. It actually says "S&W Bankers Special" on the side of the barrel. Also stamped cal. .38 S&W. It is nickel finish, 1 1/2 inch tapered barrel, no shroud for the ejector pin, square butt, exposed hammer. It looks like a standard small frame exposed hammer snub nose revolver. Nothing special about the way it appears. I hope this helps some. Thanks again.

 

[moewadle]

I just checked the SW Bible aka

The Standard Catalog of Smith and Wesson and I cannot find anything about a Banker's Special. As stated, give us more information, especially the serial number.

 

[Ron James]

You couldn't find anything in the S&W book about the Bankers Special?? That's because the Bankers Special is a Colt Firearm.

 

[moewadle]

Ronjames

You misunderstood why I did this. It was already pointed out above, before your entry, that the Bankers Special was a Colt Model. However, when one is doing research it should be done thoroughly with no stone unturned. I, personally, do not have the SW book memorized page for page so I double-checked it for someone who was asking a question. Assumptions should never be made when doing research.

 

[Ron James]

Hey, don't get all uptight, I was just posting a comment, I was sure you knew the information already. I believe there's something woring with the information he's feeding us. He has a Colt not a S&w. The Colt Banklers Special was made 1926-1943. As you have already found out, S&W has never made a Bankers Special.

 

[Jim K]

One book indicates some were marked ".38 S&W", but Colt generally avoided putting the competition's name on their guns. IIRC, the ones in .38 I have seen were marked ".38 Police Positive", which was the same as the .38 Colt New Police, which was the same (except for a flat nose bullet) as the (shock!) .38 S&W.

Jim

 

[RedStateRighty]

Didn't mean to start a riff among you guys. You are all correct and I am wrong. It is a Colt Bankers Special. The Colt horse is stamped clearly on the side but I had not taken it out of the case to inspect it. It is stamped .38S&W on the side of the barrel. Any idea of value? The finish is excellent. Original Colt wood grips.

 

[Jim Watson]

There was one on GunsAmerica with an ASKING price of $750. Good enough for bragging purposes, but who knows what it would actually sell for.