smith and wesson serial number date of manufacture j frame

Just gives S&W collectors a shorthand way to reference J frames from that specific time period. It doesn't make the J frame any more valuable. It was sometimes at the beginning, and sometimes in the middle, of the string of either 5 or 6 numbers. So during the period of 1969-1983, the 'J' in J frame serial numbers 'floated' position within the serials. But a short time later in 1983, S&W gave up on these weird 'floating J' serial number combinations, and switched J frames over to the standard 3-alpha and 4-numeric serial combos used on other S&W revolvers (e.g. Once those combos ran out, S&W again 'floated' the J and started numbering them as 1J10000. Since they had already used up to J99999 previously, they started with J100000, and ran up to J999999. Smith & Wessons K-frame series is, without question, the most prolific. Once these serial options ran out, S&W switched the position of the J back to the beginning of the serial, followed by now 6 digits. All were marked Model of 1921 and bore a serial number which was placed in. These ran to 1J9999 and then switched to 2J1 - 2J9999, then eventually 10J1-10J999, and eventually 100J1-100J99, and so on. The seller also stated, the serial number dates it to 1957, but S&W started. Smith and Wesson Serial Number Date of Manufacture J Frame Revolver Lookup. After J99999, the serials switched to a format of 1J1. and Wesson Serial Number Date of Manufacture J Frame Revolver Lookup. Smith wesson serial number database After WWII K, S, C, D, J and N prefixes. They restarted at J1 and ran all the way through to J99999.Īt that point, rather than adding a 6th digit, they decided to move the position of the letter J, and start over with a combination of 5 numbers and the letter J. So they started numbering J frames with serials beginning with J, and followed by numbers. In 1969, S&W decided they wanted the serials of J frames to begin with the letter J. It's a quirk of the serial number styles used by S&W on J frames in the late 1960s through early 1980s.Įarly J frames produced in the 1950s through late 1960s just had numeric serials, running 1 through 700000-something.

Smith and wesson serial number date of manufacture j frame