The Model 28, also known as the Highway Patrolman, traces its heritage back to the Smith & Wesson Registered Magnum. The Registered Magnum morphed into the .357 Magnum (first production model completed April 8, 1935).[2] The .357 Magnum was temporarily discontinued in December 1941 when S&W turned their focus to wartime production, but was reintroduced in December 1948 with the new series beginning at serial number S72000. The new .357 Magnum had been modernized to incorporate the rebound slide operated hammer block and the new short throw hammer. It was redesignated the Model 27 in 1957.[3] Law enforcement agencies favored the Model 27, but its high-polish finish and labor-intensive topstrap checkering added expense with no added utility for a police carry gun.
Smith And Wesson Highway Patrol 357 Serial Number
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What is the current value of smith & wesson Mod 28-2 highway patrolman 357 3 inch barrel serial #N14893 made 1970-72 with rubber grips and very good condition. I understand this model N serial # N1 to 100000 was produced 1970 to 72. Fairly low number if I am correct. Thanks for any Help. Mike
Actually the standard published list shows the N1 to N100000 range running from 1969-1972. However, this has now been shown to be incorrect. We now know that from 1970-1972 serial numbers N1 to N60000 were used for sure and the numbers may have gone a bit higher than that. N60001 may have been used as early as late 1972, and then the numbers reached up to N190000 by the end of 1974. Part of the reason for this being vague is that S&W used the serial numbers in blocks, not in sequence.
Moreover, there were several different N frame models sharing the same serial sequence and they were not all being manufactured at the same time. So one block of higher numbers reserved for the Model 29, for example, might be used sooner than a block of numbers reserved for the Model 27 that were lower.
So, yes, N14893 is a relatively low N prefix serial number, but it could date from as late as 1972, when looking strictly at the numbers someone might expect it to be of 1970 production. The only way to find out for sure when a particular gun shipped from the factory is to purchase a factory authentication letter for $50. But who really cares? We know it came out in the very early 1970s, which is probably close enough, right?.
It is worth mentioning here that even the gun bearing the number N1 is not really an early Highway Patrolman revolver because the model spent about 15 years getting S prefix numbers before the company switched to using the N prefix serialization.
Up for grabs is a Smith & Wesson Model 28-2 Highway Patrolman double-action revolver in .357 Mag. Serial number- S280338. Through our research we believe this revolver was manufactured between 1966 and 1967. This Model 28-2 is in excellent condition, features a 6 inch barrel, the original wooden grips with matching serial numbers and comes with a leather holster. The Model 28, also known as the Highway Patrolman, traces its heritage back to the Smith & Wesson Registered Magnum. The Smith & Wesson Model 28 was popular with police and civilian shooters alike. It was produced from 1954 through 1986. V2-J4 Barrel Length: 6 Bore condition: Excellent 2ff7e9595c