S&W 1917. Worth factory letter?

[MosinM38]

As mentioned in this thread.
http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=259191

I got a good S&W 1917 in great shape.
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u272/Win88_album/19171.jpg

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u272/Win88_album/19172.jpg

I think it was either $50 or $75 (I think $75) to do get a S&W factory letter.

It's in 95% (At least. I'm being conservative), the only blemish is 2 tiny scratches in the cylinder. I am 99% sure it is NOT reblued, if so, the best job any of 3 people I REALLY trust on the subject have ever seen. + the grip doesn't even have a wear mark from the lanyard (As most do).

*Rant on*
I hadn't planned on it. I didn't figure the $75 would raise it's value much but...Sheesh. After the last gunshow it might not hurt. I walked it a bit and got all the (Uber knowladged) dealers telling me how it wasn't original because:
#1. ALL Army issued guns had checkered stocks. Since these are smooth, it's non-original grips and must be reblued..
#2. It's not parkerized and ALL 1917's bought by the army in WW1 were parkerized. It's blued so someone did it later in life.

WHERE do these people glean their knowladge from?
Leastways
*Rant off*


So I got 2 questions.
#1. Is the factory letter worth getting? Will it actually raise the value the cost of the letter? I mean, it says "US property" what will it actually do other than say it was shipped to the US Army in a blued finish,etc.etc.?

#2. I'm looking at $875. Without seeing it in person, is that a fair price? I believe so, and I got an offer for $750 cash-in-guns-on-table.

Thanks!!!

 

[laytonj1]

Per the Standard Catalog of S&W:
US issue 1917's were supplied with plain (smooth) walnut stocks. Commercial versions came with checkered walnut grips.
The bluing on the military issue guns are a lighter shade than commercial models.
I can't tell from the pictures if it's been reblued or not and a factory letter won't tell you either (unless it was done at the factory).
The SCSW also list a value of $700 in "Very good" and $1350 in "excellent plus".
However, if reblued that value will be greatly reduced.

Jim

 

[MosinM38]

hmmm.

I might try and find out if there's any S&W enthusiasts/collectors in Montana. Maybe just outright try and sell it, or at least get an opinion on it.

But thanks for the info!!!!

 

[woad_yurt]

The wood looks very light in color. From those I've seen, mine included, it's always much darker. Have they been replaced or refinished? Also, do you know if it's been re-blued? There's gotta be a S&W freak somewhere near you who could tell you.

It's a really nice looking gun, remarkably so. If original, it's a good one for sure.

 

[Winchester_73]

Well first off, I think this gun was redone. Between the light flawless grips AND the bright near perfect finish, it seems suspect. Also, a S&W factory letter is only $50 but in your case probably not worth it. The factory letter is best used to verify an odd feature such as barrel length or sights etc. Pretty much all 1917s are the same so the only unknown info that the letter would have is the ship date and where it was shipped to. I am looking for a S&W 1917 for my collection but I would prefer one with honest wear to a specimen such as yours. I think the finish should be more dull but that could just be the picture. Hopefully its not redone, good luck to you.

 

[MosinM38]

Thanks for the replies.

The two things mentioned in the posts

The wood looks very light in color. From those I've seen, mine included, it's always much darker.

Between the light flawless grips AND the bright near perfect finish, it seems suspect.

The wood is showing up WAY lighter in those pics than they really are. Musta been the way I photographed them. The finish shows up way...um....shinier? than they really are as well. I should take better pictures/

SO I dunno. Leastways, I'm gonna have to try and find a S&W guy somewhere in MT to look at it.

But thanks for the replies.

 

[RsqVet]

Mosin ---

I too do not think that a factory letter is going to help you much. Your grips look like every 1917 I have ever seen, think someone was pumping BS saying they were replaced.

Seeing that you are 16 I have to wonder if folks were not trying to take a bit of advantage of you. I tend to want to think the best of everyone but the simple truth is that many gun show / trader types live by the creedo buy low / sell high and will do anything to make that happen. Esp. if they smell an inexperianced seller. It's like blood in the water amongst sharks. Sad but true.

As others have said it does look awful good for a close to 100 year old gun.... and too shinny relative to most 1917's I have seen in original finish. Impossible to tell but really you do have to ask yourself what are the chances that this near flawless example of a 100 year old gun showed up at a pawn shop? Not saying that it does not happen but it's rare.

That being said it would appear you were offered $750 for it? Your post is really not clear. I frankly would have taken the $750 and been happy, you are into the gun for less than this and are making a tidy profit. An honest dealer will offer about 80% of what they think they can move a gun for --- this tells me that you found somoene who thinks the gun is original, great let them move it at $930 dollars (750 is 80% of that number) though frankly from what I have seen of 1917's it's not like it is going to fly off of anyones shelves at that price, and if it is a re-finsh they may end up losing money on it. At 875 that puts the dealer selling it over 1k and you simply do not see many 1917's selling over 1k period. People may list them over this price but what they sell for is another thing.

If you drive all over finding a Smith and Wesson expert to authenticate it you have burned gas and time to get what? That extra $125 dollars out of the gun maybe? Because remember despite what any expert says, they are not the guy buying it or offering to do so... so their word really is not going to mean squat to a buyer, who will have their own opinion. I honestly would feel better served with the 750 cash in hand and moving on to my next project / purchase than trying to utterly maximize the price on this one item. Important lesson to learn early on in life as I see so many people who run virtual museums trying to squeeze every last dollar out of things they own.

 

[MosinM38]

Thanks for the advice I do appreciate it.

The deal was, he'd give me $750 of credit for any guns on his table. Problem was all he had were junk .22's and shotguns. If there'd been something I'd have liked, I would have taken it.

I was asking $875. But everyone(Almost) asks more than they'd take, me including If someone offered $750+I would have taken it.

But if I asked $750, I'd have to go down to $675,etc. Trading etiquette and rules are a pain in the hind end.


As much as anything, I was wanting to see if it was original to see if I judged it correctly. That's my biggest thing, I am sorta doing alot of horse-trading anymore, and I was trying to see if I judged stuff sorta adequately. If it did turn out to be a reblue job, I'd probably start using it myself. I would NOT want to try and get the $700 for it and end up gypping someone else.

 

[James K]

The grips appear to be lighter and more reddish looking than they should be, but that could be the lighting. (They look like the grips being sold by NC Ordnance - www.gungrip.com.)

The original finish is not black/shiny like later S&Ws because the guns were not highly polished, but they don't look flat either, and they were NOT Parkerized. A Parkerized 1917 (Colt or S&W) was refinished in the WWII era.

Better pics would help, but I am not ready to say the finish is not original, as the original finish, if oiled, can look pretty shiny.

I doubt a factory letter would tell you much. Those revolvers were not even sent to various depots, they were simply trucked across town to Springfield Armory for inspection and acceptance.

Jim