April 24-25, 2019 Extraordinary, Sporting, & Collector Firearms
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/25/2019
Arguably the holy grail of all 20th century Smith & Wesson collectibles are the pre-war Registered Magnum double action revolvers. Introduced and 1935 and produced until 1939, each revolver was hand fitted and the yoke was stamped with a registration number, and would have been supplied to the new owner with his custom built .357 that included a registration certificate, instructions, screwdriver, swab and sleeve, cleaning brush, request card and envelope. On October 16th, 1939, the instructions came through to stop marking the guns with the registration number. Harold Wesson dictated this process be stopped in order to shift support to the coming war. Approximately 5,224 were manufactured from 1935 to 1939 and they could be special ordered to the individual's tastes. From October 16th, 1939 through 1942 approximately 1,400 Non-Registered Pre-War Magnums were produced, approximately 60% less revolvers than the Registered Magnums. These are referred to as Non-Registered Magnums; they no longer had the registration stamp and barrel length became standard. In the book "The Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson 4th Edition", by Supica and Nahas, on page 154 they go on to state that not only are they much rarer than the Registered Magnums but "in general, they were more likely to be heavily used than the Registereds, and accordingly, high condition guns are noticeably scarce". He also states that serial number 62489 with 4-1/2" barrel was the only war-time production Magnum manufactured in 1942, so the majority of the Non-Registered Magnums were produced between October 1939 through December 6th, 1941. The factory letter states serial number 61449 was shipped May 9th, 1940 and delivered to Kelley-How & Thomson, Duluth, Minnesota. Letter also states that the cost was $35.45 and the gun was marked for S. Gilleland on the invoice. Shipped as a .357 Magnum, 6-1/2" with blued finish, Patridge sights and no special sights. These Non-Registered Magnums were shipped in the same blue box as their Registered successor. This example features Patridge front sight, target adjustable rear sight, pinned barrel, recessed chamber, case colored checkered humpback hammer with side serrations and "REG US PAT OFF" stamp, five screw, factory blue finish, serrated trigger, six shot, double action and blued finish. All matching numbers including barrel, cylinder and right grip. CONDITION: This gun is definitely nice enough for a box. Has a hint of muzzle wear, hint of high edge cylinder wear, nice case colors. Retains 98% original factory high polish blue finish. Walnut grips have had some finish added as well as a minor repair to the right numbers matching grip at the front leading edge (visible in pictures). Indexes and locks up correctly. Mirror bore. Overall, the nicest blued transition model this writer has ever seen, infinitely rarer than the Registered Model but built on the same machine by the same people. Also one of the hardest to find of any Smith & Wesson's that retains any kind of condition; a collector's prize.
Manufacturer
Smith & Wesson
Model
Non-Registered Magnum