S&W 41-1 find. Kinda.

[wbunning]

Hi folks. I have an elderly female friend who inherited a few firearms from her father and needs to sell them, and she has asked me to help her accomplish that. A couple are straight forward, but there are two that are a little different. Before I get them offered up for sale, I need to check a couple of things. One question was about a Contender she has, but I posted that in another thread.

So she also has a S&W model 41-1 as seen below. Don't get too excited about it. I know it's a fairly rare gun, and this one is in fine shape, BUT.. it has a .22LR barrel on it and she doesn't have the .22 Short that it came with, no box, no paperwork.

I have no clue as to how to value this one. I'm thinking a collector may be interested in at least for the frame, but not sure how/where to advertise it. I'm pretty sure she's not going to want to deal with shipping it.

Any ideas?
Thanks to anyone more knowledgeable than I for any help you might be able to offer.






p.s. -- the fingerprints are mine and I wiped them off ;-)

[003]

A good place to start would be the “for sale” section here on calguns. Given the condition and history, I think a very fair starting price would be in the $1000.00 range.

As an alternative, you may want to contact a local auction house. One with a very good reputation is Lock Stock and Barrel in Simi Valley. http://www.lsbauctions.com/

[wbunning]

http://www.lsbauctions.com/

Thanks, 003. I saw a few complete 41-1 units with the correct barrels, box, with original bits and pieces in the $2k range, but I'm pretty sure this one isn't worth close to that. Good starting points. If I can get it reasonably valued, she's going to want to sell it locally in the Central Coast area, and I'll advertise it here on CalGuns if word of mouth doesn't get it sold.

Thanks again, I appreciate your input.

[Barbarosa]

A SN would help with the value. xx out the last two or three digits if you don't wan't to post the whole thing. Some variations are worth 2 - 3 X the value than others.

The gun appears to have been made between 1961 (when they started adding the -1 to the frame) and 1973 when the -1 was discontinued. 28 more were made in 1976 from leftover parts (hence the need for a SN). The 7 3/8" barrel is worth 2X the value of a standard Model 41.

[wbunning]

A SN would help with the value. xx out the last two or three digits if you don't wan't to post the whole thing. Some variations are worth 2 - 3 X the value than others.

Thanks.

I looked it up in the Smith & Wesson Catalog, and it would appear to be a late 60's serial #: 28XXX. # is on the left side of the frame. Internet scour doesn't show up anyone with the 41-1 frame holding a .22LR slide/barrel assembly.

[Barbarosa]

It might be worth asking on the S&W forum because the SN is very low but according to the "Book" your SN should be on the right side of the frame (starting SN 27500). The one thing for sure about S&W is nothing is for sure. They are known for making one-offs for customers and maybe you have the only 41-1 shipped in .22 lr. They made a conversion kit to switch a model 41 to .22 short; I don't see any reference to a conversion kit to make a 41-1 into .22lr.

Depending on what they say over there you may want to suggest she gets a factory letter describing what she has. A one-off factory lettered gun could be worth a lot of money.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/forum.php

[wbunning]

It might be worth asking on the S&W forum because the SN is very low but according to the "Book" your SN should be on the right side of the frame (starting SN 27500). The one thing for sure about S&W is nothing is for sure. They are known for making one-offs for customers and maybe you have the only 41-1 shipped in .22 lr. They made a conversion kit to switch a model 41 to .22 short; I don't see any reference to a conversion kit to make a 41-1 into .22lr.

Depending on what they say over there you may want to suggest she gets a factory letter describing what she has. A one-off factory lettered gun could be worth a lot of money.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/forum.php

Good idea to check with the guys on the S&W forum. I had read that part in the S&W catalog about the serial number getting switched to the other side. I think the wording was more like "About 27500" or something similar. Anyway, the piece is something of a curiosity.

With regard to the one-off thing, though, it's difficult to imagine why anyone would special order a 41-1 with a LR slide and barrel, when the standard model 41 came that way :-)

[russ69]

Collector value may be limited due to lack of provenance and a replacement barrel but it is still a desirable pistol and should garner a very good price.

[Gryff]

$900-1200.

[wbunning]

$900-1200.

Thanks, Gryff. That's the same ballpark my research is showing. I appreciate your input.

[wbunning]

Collector value may be limited due to lack of provenance and a replacement barrel but it is still a desirable pistol and should garner a very good price.

Thanks, Russ!