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I just inherited a beauty of a .38 special revolver with a 5-inch barrel, but I am a little confused as to its age. The serial on the base is S-661XX, which is confusing since my understanding is that all the "S" serial numbers should have 6 digits between 700000 and 999999... I think this gun is a 1946 or 1947 M&P... I took it to a gun store and they told me it was n-frame, but that does not seem to make any sense - according to Wikipedia those were all larger caliber pistols.
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Such are the hazards of trusting Wikipedia.
Much of the info on Wikipedia about S&Ws is inaccurate or incomplete, particularly about pre-model-numbered Smiths.
I assume your gun has a fixed rear sight because you think it's an M&P. If so, it's a .38/44 Heavy Duty aka pre-Model 20 manufactured ca. early 1947. It's an N frame built to chamber a hot-rodded .38 Special cartridge called the .38/44 or .38 Special Hi-Speed, a predecessor to the .357 Magnum that was supposedly loaded hotter than modern .38Spl+P. Early .38/44s were marked ".38/44" on the barrel, but postwar examples were marked ".38 S&W SPECIAL CTG." just like an M&P.
This gun and the .38/44 cartridge were marketed to law enforcement, but by the end of WWII when N frame production restarted, their thunder had pretty much been stolen by the .357 Magnum. They sold quite poorly, which has made them quite valuable thanks to the active S&W collector community.
They're worth about 3X the value of an equivalent M&P aka Model 10, and their value has climbed sharply in the last couple of years.
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s/n 319xxx
The barrel is engraved -- 38 s&w special CTG
Anyone know what the CTG stand for?
I inherited it a few years ago. My mother always told me that it was a cilvil war pistol that came from my great grandfather. When my family members and I were dividing up the estate per the will , my sister was livid that I received this item.... I went to a gun shop about 10 years ago and the gun dealer told me that it was a ww1 revolver and that it was only worth about $125 in the condition that it was in... I doubt if that's the value. I hope someone can give me an idea of what its worth. I'm think $350 - $400.
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It's only Civil War-era if you count the Russian Civil War or the Mexican Revolution.
You've got a .38 Military & Police Model of 1905, 4th Change, made in the mid-1920s. Value is highly dependent on finish for these guns. $125 is low for a complete and functional gun unless the finish is really bad. OTOH the typical 1920s M&P with 50%-70% finish is worth somewhere in the $250-$350 range. Guns with better finish are worth quite a bit more, but are increasingly rare.
The exception is if it's an M&P Target with an adjustable rear sight, which were produced on a special-order basis with some unusual options; some M&P Targets bring 3x-4x standard value.
"CTG" stands for Cartridge. Your gun is chambered in .38 Special.
Post some well-lit pictures and we'll try to be more specific.