Value guide
What is my Smith & Wesson worth?
Smith & Wesson revolvers turn up in almost every estate that holds handguns at all, and the range runs from ordinary service revolvers to guns that collectors pursue for years. The dividing lines are unusually clear once you know them, and almost invisible if you don’t.
No page can price your gun, and any page that offers to is guessing. What this one does is show you the things that decide the number, so you can look at what you have and know whether you’re holding something ordinary or something worth a proper look.
Pinned barrels and recessed cylinders, and what happened around 1982
For decades Smith & Wesson pinned the barrel into the frame and recessed the chambers so the cartridge rims sat flush. Both features were dropped in the early 1980s as manufacturing changed. Collectors treat 'pinned and recessed' as shorthand for the earlier, more carefully made production, and it moves the number meaningfully on popular models. It’s also something anybody can check: look for a small pin through the frame above the barrel, and look at whether the chamber mouths are countersunk.
The models that turn up, and what they mean
| Model | Made | What it means for value |
|---|---|---|
| Model 29 | 1955–present | The .44 Magnum. Early production, pinned and recessed, in original condition with the presentation case is a different gun from a late one. |
| Model 10 / Military & Police | 1899–present | Probably the most-produced centerfire revolver in the world. Most are working guns; very early and very clean ones aren’t. |
| Model 27 / Model 28 | 1935–1980s | The .357 Magnum guns. The 27 was the finished version and the 28 the working one, and they’re priced accordingly. |
| Pre-model-number revolvers | before 1957 | Before S&W applied model numbers, guns were known by name. These need identifying properly and are regularly undervalued. |
| Registered Magnum | 1935–1939 | A pre-war made-to-order .357. Rare, documented, and genuinely valuable — and it looks like an old revolver. |
| K-22 / Model 17 | 1930s–1990s | Target .22 revolvers with a strong following. Another gun routinely dismissed for being a .22. |
What to check before anybody makes you an offer
- Whether the barrel is pinned and the cylinder recessed — the quickest date indicator on the gun.
- The model number stamped inside the crane, visible when the cylinder is swung out, on anything made after 1957.
- Whether the finish is original and whether the sideplate screws show signs of the gun having been opened repeatedly.
- Whether the stocks are numbered to the gun, which they often are on older production.
And the two rules that apply to every gun on this page:don’t clean it, and keep the box and papers. Removing original finish is permanent, and on the right gun the packaging is a real fraction of the total.
"It's just an old police revolver"
A great many Smith & Wesson revolvers were bought as tools and used as tools, and plenty are worth exactly what a used revolver is worth. But the same frame and the same profile also cover pre-war guns, early magnums and target models that are worth several times as much — and telling them apart is a matter of small markings instead of appearance.
How do I find the model number on a Smith & Wesson?
Swing the cylinder out and look at the flat surface of the frame where the crane sits — on anything from 1957 onward there’s usually a model number stamped there. Before 1957 the guns weren’t numbered that way and need identifying by their features instead.
Model by model
- What is my Smith & Wesson Model 29 worth? (1955–present)
- What is my Smith & Wesson Model 10 worth? (1899–present)
- What is my Smith & Wesson Model 19 and 66 worth? (1957–present)
Getting an actual number
Condition, originality and configuration decide it, and none of the three can be judged from a description. Send photos and we’ll make you an offer, wherever you are in the country. It comes itemized, showing what we’ll pay for each firearm, so you can see how the number is built instead of being handed one figure for the pile.
Related: what determines value on any gun ·how to sell a collection ·you inherited firearms
Worth reading alongside this
Police trade-in guns — department markings and what they do to the value. Engraved guns — factory grade or added later, and why the difference is most of the money. What determines value on any firearm.
Other makers
Winchester, Remington, Colt, Marlin, Browning, Ruger, military surplus rifles, Glock, Beretta, Intratec, Savage, Mossberg, Ithaca, Walther and SIG Sauer.