Authentication Services for

Smith & Wesson Top-Break Revolvers

The values of Smith & Wesson's Model Number 3, large framed, top-break revolvers have increased dramatically over the last several years. Unfortunately, along with that increase in value have come an increasingly large number of faked, altered, damaged or otherwise modified guns that have been reported as being in original condition and sometimes sold at premium prices.

Occasionally such guns are sold by unscrupulous dealers, but more often, the sellers simply don't know enough about what they are selling and may sell a revolver with problems that could drastically effect its value. If you are the buyer of such a revolver, the problem then becomes yours and that could turn into an expensive mistake. When that happens, what may have seemed to be a worthwile investment can become a big loss for you. . .that is, unless you ask the seller you purchased the gun from for a written money-back guarantee of authenticity.

Protect your investment. An excellent method of protecting your valuable investment is to obtain a letter of authenticity. Although many people don't realize it, as the buyer, you can insist on a money-back stipulation from the seller (your money refunded if the authentication doesn't bear out the revolver's originality, condition and/or some special feature or attribute that consititutes a strong selling point or effects the value.) Of course, the seller doesn't have to allow this, but if he won't; you may have a strong reason to be suspicious of what he is trying to sell you.

 

What about factory historical letters? The factory historical letter is a great idea, it can tell you when your gun was shipped and to whom, sometimes what finish the gun originally had, what grips it was supplied with, the caliber and perhaps, the barrel length.

 

However, what the factory historical letter cannot tell you is exactly what happened to the gun after it left the factory! In other words, is it still authentic?

Just what is a letter of authenticity? My authentication service offers a thorough examination of the revolver, both inside and out to determine the actual, present condition of the weapon. From it you will learn what the condition of your revolver is now, in its present state. Your gun is carefully disassembled** and given an intense examination to determine its true condition and then re-assembled and placed back in the state it was in before we began the examination***. Some of the areas we look at are: Originality of exterior and interior finishes, matching major parts and grips, alterations, modifications, old fire and water damages, replaced parts and general overall mechanical, interior and surface conditions. Everything I find is reported back to you in a fully detailed letter, written on my official stationary. In addition, I have maintained records of many of the Smith & Wesson revolvers I have handled over the past 30 plus years, this means that in some cases we actually may be able to compare the gun's present condition with what was observed at an earlier time.

Who am I? I am a gunsmith with over 30 years experience and an author (see below), I am also recognized as the foremost expert on older Smith & Wesson revolvers.

As a gunsmith specializing in the repair and restoration of pre-1950 S&W revolvers, the S&W factory has referred its customers with obsolete and antique firearms to me since about 1976.

As a writer, I have authored countless articles on gunsmithing, firearms history and arms collecting, as well as three firearms books, with three additional book manuscripts being written at this time.

 

Over the years, I have worked on hundreds, if not thousands of Model No. 3 Smith & Wesson revolvers and have become intimately familiar with them, both inside and out.

 

Many advanced collectors have come to rely on my expert opinion of a weapon and they use this information as a guide to help them evaluate important firearms for their collections, both before and after purchase.

 

Member: S.A.S.S., Colt Collectors Assn., contributing editor American Rifleman.

 

a happy customer

How does this service work? First, you will have to send me your revolver for a first hand examination in order to obtain a letter of authenticity.

The cost of the authentication service itself is $175. per revolver**, plus return shipping and packing charges of $35. (insurance charges are additional.)

Photographic proof: For an additional $35. I can provide you with digital photographic documentation (on one CD) of what I find when I examine your revolver.

Shipping Legalities. Model No. 3 revolvers - regardless of the manufacturer's shipping date - are classified as antiques and made before 1898, they may be legally shipped using the U.S. postal service by unlicensed individuals. You should not mark "gun" or "antique" or "firearm" on the outside of the box. If you are asked if the box contains any hazardous or illegal material, you may honestly answer no. Never ship a loaded gun and never ship ammunition in the same package with the gun, either is against the law.

I highly recommend using Registered, Insured Mail via U.S. Postal Service to ship valuable antiques.

Contact me for a shipping address by sending me an e-mail at

dave@oldwestgunsmith.com

** Revolvers with rusted, badly damaged and/or frozen screws, or that have areas in such a condition that would require more gunsmithing in order to be disassembled, will not be disassembled past the point where that is found and the gun's owner will be notified that more work would be required in order to complete the evaluation. The gun's owner is liable for additional charges to cover any additional gunsmithing work that may be required beyond what is considered the normal course of disassembly and assembly. I am not responsable for any parts which, upon disassembly, are broken, damaged or worn out, nor am I responable for earlier damages of any sort on the weapon which may be uncovered during the course of this examination.

* * *Sometimes a broken spring or part is uncovered when an old revolver is disassembled, in such an instance, the gun's owner is liable for the cost of replacement of any such broken components and they will not automatically be repaired by David R. Chicoine. Differences in external appearance may occur at the screw slots, where we will have to remove grime, rust and dirt desposits inside the screw slots in order to allow their safe and efficient removal. In areas where factory markings are covered with years of grime or rust, some cleaning may be necessary in order to bring those markings to a legible condition for examination purposes, in all events; we promise to use extraordinary care and will always attempt to preserve the present finish condition.

My books currently in print:

Gunsmithing Guns of the Old West© (in print 2001) from Krause Publications

Gunsmithing Guns of the Old West, 2nd Edition© (expanded 2004) from Krause

Smith & Wesson Sixguns of the Old West© (June 2004) from Mowbray Publications

 

Guns of the New West June 2005 from Krause Publications

Gun Digest Manual of Antique Firearms Assembly/Disassembly, Oct. 2005, Krause

 

Manuscripts currently being written:

Gunsmithing Guns of the Old West©, 3rd Edition (slated for 2008)

Smith & Wesson Sixguns of the Old West©, 2nd Edition (no publication date set)

Smith & Wesson's Five-Shooters, the Small Frame Top-Breaks© (no publication date set)

 

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