[geosully]

On the bottom of the buttstrap:
38DA
No.
R
WW.K (I read that this means it is a USMC piece)
1895
(I have been told this is where a two line serial number should be, I see none.)


On the cylinder release:
*3369
Inside the crane, on frame and on crane:
3369
3369
J
(there is another, very faint 3398 in both places, superimposed by the 3369 number, which was a harder stamp.) I have read that these numbers are designed to keep the sets of hand fitted parts together.

Across the top of the barrel:

COLTS PT. F A MFG, CO HARTFORD CT USA
PATENTED AUG. 5 1884 NOV. 6, 88 MAR. 5, 95


Close to frame on Barrel
COLT 38 DA

Any help? Is this chambered for 38 S&W Spec, which will fit in the chambers?
Any idea on value? The cylinder will rotate with the hammer at rest, but locks up fairly tightly when cocked. I read that the free rotating cylinder was considered a design flaw, but since the last patent date is 1895, it seems like it should have been corrected by this date. It would appear this pistol was made after Mar 1895
Wooden grips appear military, with three small notches on the bottom right. The is no lanyard ring on the butt.
The history: The gun belonged to a man from Lousianna, whose father owned a Timber operation in Cuba, before the communist revolution, around the time of the banana wars.
Thanks everyone!