Heirloom revolver rescued from basement

Cleaning out Father in law's basement last weekend, and my wife passed this piece to me with his consent for safekeeping. Apparently, his Grandmother was a rancher in Osage County, OK. Her husband was a professional gambler, and as a result there were some less than savory characters out at the house at all hours. So Grandma got herself this pistol.

There ws no significant rust, but the trigger doesn't want to reset, so I'm thinking of taking it in to someone way smarter than me about this kind of thing. It feels pretty solid, but I still wouldn't shoot it. The Airwieght, on the other hand shoots just fine at age 40.

Need help with an ID...I can't find any significant markings on it anywhere. Looks to be a 5-shot .38, but shorter than .38 special as you can see from the side-by-side with my other heirloom '60-something Airweight. On to the pictures...I can get some better ones on request if anyone's curious.

Cool! Thanks, guys...any guesses as to the caliber? Looks to big too be a .32, but it could be a trick of the light.

Oh, and naturally the wife wants to know if it's worth anything. Not that I'd let her sell it. I already managed to knock of the small bits of rust with a soft brush and CLP, and now I can spin the cylinder and actually get it to lock up.

Deadin: Not sure about the feature you describe...I'm "revolver stupid". Me puts .38 special ammo in S&W, me pulls trigger. Gun go bang.

Jrob24: Does your book say where to find the serial number? I couldn't find one anywhere.

I checked the chamber against a .38 special round, and I think you're right...it's defintely a .38S&W. After the other guys tagged it as an IJ, some quick Googling showed me its the 3rd Model Safety Automatic Revolver. Only manufactured up until 1941.

From http://www.armchairgunshow.com/pocketDA-info.html

In the standard Safety Automatic revolvers with the traditional exposed hammer, the First Model was made from 1894 through 1895 and is identified by it’s single post latch system. The Second Model was made from 1896 to 1908, and the Third Model was made from 1909 to 1941. Both Second and Third Models have the double post latch system. Quick visual clues that identify a Third Model include a longer rear sight on top of the latch and the owl head on the grips is looking directly at you , rather than towards the muzzle end of the barrel as was the case on the Second Model. The Third Model changes were intended to accommodate the higher pressure of smokeless powder loads.

Click to expand...

Oh, don't worry...it's worth way more with the history and would never be sold. Thanks again to all for the assistance.

Saltydog, the IS a cool idea. Plus, it'll give my wife a reason to go to Hobby Lobby without the predictable wailing and gnashing of teeth coming from me after I see the receipt.