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serial # CAW2053xx thanks hope i did that right
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I'm assuming that you added the "xx" to the serial number, rather than replacing the last two digits of the SN with the "xx." Modern S&W serial numbers are of the form "3 letters plus 4 numbers" - I'm unaware of any that are 3+6. Assuming all that to be the case, your 640 would date from 1996, the last year of manufacture before it was replaced by the 640-1, introduced the same year in .357 caliber rather than .38 (as was the 640).
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It has the 4 line inscription on right side. also .22 long rifle ctc" on the side of the barrel.
serial number on butt plate.. 604**
also has the letter K before the numbers..but is about half inch before numbers
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I'm pretty sure you have a K-22 Masterpiece (which later became the Model 17) from 1948. If so, the gun should have a 6" barrel and a front sight that is squared off in the back (vs. ramped). It if has a 4" barrel and ramped front sight that would make it a K-22 Combat Masterpiece (pre-Model 18), but those weren't introduced until 1949. The "K" is part of the serial number, though in my experience at least, the separation you describe is somewhat unusual.
Older S&Ws are always valuable, but condition is important and based on your description you have a very nice, but not really collectible, revolver with what sounds like the original "diamond Magna" grips. I think you did fine on the price. (And I'd happily buy the gun from you at a tidy profit, as 1948 is my birth year and I've been looking for an S&W revolver from that year for a while.)
S&W doesn't really have a ".38 frame" per se. Your gun is built on the K-frame, the medium-size frame that is used for a number of different cartridges, including the .38 Special.
The .22 Magnum rimfire is a different cartridge and will not fire, shouldn't even chamber, in your gun. You can shoot any of the cartridges that are similar to the .22 LR, such as the .22 short, .22 CB Long, etc., in the gun, but there's no particular reason to as those are typically more expensive than the ubiquitous .22 LR.