Date older S&W?

[Adavid02]

I wanted to know if someone here could help me.
The gun is a smith and wesson 38 special. It says u.s. service ctg's on the barrel. The serial number is 550XX.

I believe it is a model 10. It has S&W on the grip and stamped in
the frame. It also has a bunch of patent dates on the barrel

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[pharmer]

Welcome aboard. According to the S&W book, either you have a M&P made in 1904 or you didn't get the serial number from the bottom of the butt. Joe

 

[Adavid02]

Awesome. I got the number off the butt. Any idea on worth?

 

[Oro]

It would run between $100 and $1000 based on condition and original accessories.

Some photos would help. It's impossible to say without a lot of detailed photos to judge the finish condition, grips, if it's been reworked, etc. If you can do that, the group here can likely nail it down pretty closely for you.

 

[Jim K]

That gun is the Military & Police Model 1902, First Change. It was the last M&P model to have the "U.S. Service Ctg." marking. Your gun was made in 1904 or 1905.

The U.S. service cartridge marking was used on the Model 1899 because S&W hoped for a large military contract; in fact, they sold only 1000 each to the Army and the Navy. They kept the marking, though, probably because the .38 Special was not yet well known. The service cartridge, of course, was what we call the .38 Long Colt, now obsolete.

The M&P revolver didn't become the Model 10 until 1958.

Jim