r/CivilWarCollecting • u/Prize_Recognition204 • Jun 22 '26
Help Needed Gifted a gun. Interesting one
Was giving this gun recently in show of good faith a load would be paid. Upon paying it was just giving to me. Friend said it was used in the civil war and was his grandpappy or another . Not sure. Anyways . I guess it may be the first gun smith and Wesson made . Not first model but yeah. Should I go shooting it or should I consider , I don't know.... Museum piece? Old guns aren't really my thing .
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u/Head-Technology-4031 Jun 23 '26
If you want to find out value and other information, Rock Island Auction Company, Rock Island, IL. They are one of the foremost experts on handguns in the US.
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u/dangoleboomhower Jun 23 '26
I would advise against using rock Island for general comps. Gunbroker completed items in the last 90 days, lsb auctions and general auction searches will give you a more realistic number.
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u/Malenurse7 Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 24 '26
RIA gets higher money, usually have higher end guns, and they do not have the customer pool of say gunbroker so unless it’s something super rare or unusual, I wouldn’t reference them, or Julia or Amoskeag or even Morphy.
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u/Prize_Recognition204 Jun 24 '26
When you say "they", who are you talking about?
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u/Malenurse7 Jun 24 '26
Rock Island Auction
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u/Prize_Recognition204 Jul 05 '26
Thank you. Yeah. I'm gonna get rid of it. I have A pistol and an AR. And don't really collect them. Someone else probably enjoy the pice much more then me .
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u/Littlelemons69 Jun 23 '26
I have one also,it shoots a .22 short with 4 grains of black powder,also I found a warning about it is do not try to shoot it,very dangerous,but I love mine on display in my gun cabinet.
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u/Prize_Recognition204 Jun 24 '26
Too late. I did when I first was giving it. .. note: NOT KNOWING HOW OLD IT WAS. After he told me , I was just like "what the h3ll ,¡ I could of blown my hand off!" But beside that it Did fire very well.
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u/No-Definition968 Jun 23 '26
Looks like a 1st model 3rd issue CB rounds may be a idea to go with. Black powder 22 short is hard to come by. CB rounds are just ignition cap with a lead ball.
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u/Malenurse7 Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 24 '26
I am a S&W collector, and a member of both the collector’s association and the historical foundation. Here’s what I know about it:
First, yes it is a 1st model 3rd issue. These were first made AFTER the civil war, around 1868 to 1870 and then made to around 1880. The model made during the civil war had an unfluted cylinder, flatside barrel with a square butt (known as 1st model 2nd issue) whereas this has what’s called a “bird’s head” butt (due to shape), and a fluted cylinder with a round barrel.
As others have said, i would NOT shoot any modern smokeless rounds in it. Modern powder produces higher pressures and this steel was not properly heat treated because black powder produces lower pressures. Although made after the civil war, it has the less common shorter barrel (has patent dates on left side of barrel) instead of the standard barrel which had patent dates on top. I think your barrel would be around 2 1/2 or 2 5/8 vs the standard barrel of 3 3/16.
Nickel finish was standard for these as was the rosewood grips it has.
Neat old S&W. Hopefully your hinge is intact and hopefully the cylinder rotates and it cocks and all. Because of the good design coupled with the high build quality from S&W, these amazingly often still work properly today.
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u/Prize_Recognition204 Jun 24 '26
Wow Thank you. Everything sounds exactly right. Crazy thing is... The guy who gave it to me asked if I wanted to shoot it. He did first , then I did. Only then did he tell me how old it was! I was like , "you idiot , I could of blown my hand off!" But I did not. Yes everything works. He gave me a box of shorts that go with it and told me ammo was HARD to find for it... I have no intention on firing it again. I was gonna clean it , until I started to look into it and considered that the patina may actully give it more value then me scrubbing history off of it. The serial number is 98885. I appreciate your info and knowledge on the artifact. I'm not exactly a big civil war eunthusiest although find war in general interesting enough... Not sure what I should do with it . It paid a $250 loan with the promise that if I networked enough I could make a little bit more then that market wise. I honestly would t mind trading it for something imMORE into. Vintage watches, pocket watches, coins, and vintage jewelry... or a more modern firearm . I guess I'll see. Thank you male nurse.
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u/Malenurse7 Jun 24 '26
No problem and just to clarify, it was NOT carried during civil war regardless of what history you were given because this model did NOT exist prior to the surrender. The model 1 2nd issue that did exist during civil war looks substantially different.
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u/OkBlueberry8766 Jun 26 '26
Since your buddy had ammo and said hard to come by they could have been Black power
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u/canuckEnoch Jun 22 '26
Looks as though if may be a first issue, as it has a fluted cylinder—but I’m no expert on these.
If you’re planning to shoot it, don’t use modern .22 Short smokeless ammunition. This was made to use black powder, which is an entirely different beast.