Sheesh. Stop calling it 'old' and 'antique'.
This Number 2 Old Army is old. Made in 1863. Definitively an antique.
Your M&P is a modern revolver compared to that. I believe it has the old style hammer block in it, the type that was pinned to the side plate. This revolver shipped in June of 1939 and it has the old style hammer block in it.
This is the style of hammer block that came in this gun.
You should be able to see it. Shine a strong light into the hammer opening in the frame. Cock the hammer very slowly. You should see a small bar of steel being pushed to the side as the hammer is cocked.
And let's be clear about that incident in the Navy. The dead man did not drop 'his' revolver. Dropping a revolver from waist high would probably not disable the old style hammer block, unless it was clogged with oil. There were lots and lots of them made, and this was the first reported incident of a failure, at least so far as I am aware. The gun in question was dropped from somewhere on the superstructure of a destroyer, and fell to the deck, where it discharged, killing the poor soul. No telling how far it fell before striking the deck.
I do have my doubts if you revolver is from 1938. Notice the large 'mushroom cap' knob on the end of the ejector rod in this gun. It shipped in July of 1906. From what I can see, your revolver has the same sort of cap on the ejector rod. Compare it to the narrow, knurled end of the ejector rod on my 1939 gun. I'm not sure exactly when the style of ejector rod changed, but yours looks earlier.
The serial number range for the 38 M&P 4th Change is very broad, starting with 241,704 in 1915 and going up to 700,000 in 1942. Where 545xxx fits in that range is anybody's guess unless you have documentation.
I will tell you this. If it was not made previous to 1899, it is not an antique in the eyes of the U S Government.
P.S. The grips on your revolver are the type generally installed at the factory from about 1920 to about 1929. If you decide to replace them,
PLEASE contact me.
