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David - That SN is too high for your Dad to have acquired the gun in 1960 - the production that year ended with K429894. Based on the photo, I agree that the position of the caliber marking on the right side of the barrel eliminates the possibility that the barrel was shortened. Also, the front sight is the ramped sight, as was used on the Model 15 (and lots of other models). So, that leaves us with all the other possibilities, plus an additional one that I should have mentioned before - the gun could be a Model 15 that was mis-marked, which has been known to happen.
I'd recommend calling S&W to see what they might be able to tell you about it, and (based on that) maybe even springing for the $50 factory letter that should nail it down for you.
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