A Pair of Victories
In 1941, along with the rest of the United States, the Smith & Wesson Military & Police revolver went to war. A rich polished blue finish was traded in for a sandblast blue and then parkerizing. Checkered grips were swapped out for smooth but serviceable walnut stocks. A lanyard loop was attached.
Since 1939, Smith & Wesson had been shipping five inch M&P revolvers in .38S&W to Great Britain on a lend/lease program. These are commonly known as 38-200s or K200s.
With the U.S. declaration of war, all production was stopped except for those revolvers, and the four inch Victory Model for American troops.
These two Victory Models I have pictured were found in pawn shops. The top one was purchased from Dave for $300. The lower Victory revolver was purchased from Amber for $150. It was not nearly so nice as the top one, and required a bit of work to get it back into an authentic representation of what it once was.
Victory revolvers were once plentiful in the marketplace, despite an agreement between S&W and the US government that they would not be sold as surplus. It is not uncommon for them, in particular the lend/lease guns, to be found with cut down barrels, Franzenite grips and a cheap chrome finish. Unmolested Victory Models still exist, although they are becoming harder to find. If a person wants to speculate on future appreciation of a firearm, the Victory Model is one of today's safest bets.
More information on the S&W Victory Model
Since 1939, Smith & Wesson had been shipping five inch M&P revolvers in .38S&W to Great Britain on a lend/lease program. These are commonly known as 38-200s or K200s.
With the U.S. declaration of war, all production was stopped except for those revolvers, and the four inch Victory Model for American troops.
These two Victory Models I have pictured were found in pawn shops. The top one was purchased from Dave for $300. The lower Victory revolver was purchased from Amber for $150. It was not nearly so nice as the top one, and required a bit of work to get it back into an authentic representation of what it once was.
Victory revolvers were once plentiful in the marketplace, despite an agreement between S&W and the US government that they would not be sold as surplus. It is not uncommon for them, in particular the lend/lease guns, to be found with cut down barrels, Franzenite grips and a cheap chrome finish. Unmolested Victory Models still exist, although they are becoming harder to find. If a person wants to speculate on future appreciation of a firearm, the Victory Model is one of today's safest bets.
More information on the S&W Victory Model
posted by Xavier at 7:21 PM
2 Comments:
I want one... an authentic Victory revolver. I'll probably have to settle for the "civilian" Model 10, and the older examples of these are hard to come by in anything approaching mint condition. If it's a Victory, the lanyard loop is a must (many were cut off).
i got one im looking to trade for a newer smaller model for my landlord grandmother in her rent collections. heres a few pics.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i80/harlequin1982/gun1.jpg
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i80/harlequin1982/serialwithv.jpg
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i80/harlequin1982/englandstamp.jpg
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i80/harlequin1982/swstampbarrel.jpg
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i80/harlequin1982/usastamp.jpg
Obviously chrome finish and lanyard removal was done along with cylinder boring to fit the larger and more common .38 special round. Let me know if you know anything about this gun or know anyone intererested in a trade of some fashion. I don't believe the finish was "cheap" as stated earlier in the blog, as all of the stamping is still mostly visible and there is little wear and tear on it despite some heavy use over the years. Most likely done while it was in good old england. Harlequineternal on yahoo IM if you want to webcam it. Talk at you guys later.
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