Need help to date an old S&W

[JWC]

Skylow, you asked about the "numbers" inside the yoke where the MOD36 is stamped. Those are typically assembly numbers, and any significance they may have had were only for the workers assembling the gun.
Also, the barrel is a 2" pinned barrel. On a S&W you measure the barrel length from the tip of the barrel to the face of the cylinder, to include the forcing cone.
You can call S&W or you can send a letter to S&W about your Smith. The letter confirming the year produced will cost $50, but due to a huge backlog, I don't believe they are accepting any new requests at this time.

The M36 is a great Smith. I cannot tell from your pictures if the finish on your M36 is pitted or flaking or neither. Nickel finishes can be polished out if there is no pitting or flaking, but it will take time. You should not use a motorized buffer or polisher on the finish. Did I mention that it will take time to polish out the finish? Well, it will.

 

[5bassman]

A little Mothers Mag Wheel cleaner and a little time and you'll be amazed. I bet the finish will look fine afterwards.

 

[JWC]

For those interested, in The Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson, page 399, first column, under "J Serial Prefix", line 3, "1971/1972, there was a mistake when printing. Serial numbers to the right of "1971/1972, should read "1J1 - 999J99". The "1" was accidentally left out. Smith & Wesson did use this format again in 1983, but a total of 6 numbers and the letter "J" was used in the 1983 version.

 

[BillsCamino]

FYI...you can still request a Roy Jinks letter on any Smith & Wesson. I received one this week in the mail in fact...took 5 weeks to fulfill my request.

 

[JWC]

FYI...you can still request a Roy Jinks letter on any Smith & Wesson. I received one this week in the mail in fact...took 5 weeks to fulfill my request.

Good to know. I had heard they were not accepting any for a while. Guess they are now! Thanks for the info.

 

[Leatherhead]

FYI...you can still request a Roy Jinks letter on any Smith & Wesson. I received one this week in the mail in fact...took 5 weeks to fulfill my request.

You got in just under the current cutoff...

He is on a short hiatus for vacation now and the word is when he returns he will no longer be doing the letters. The S&W Historical Foundation will be taking over the job....

I've heard the letters will be $100 for non members and $75 for members of the SWHF.

I could be wrong and the details could change a bit, but that is the info I have received.

 

[BillsCamino]

I guess anyone interested would have to call Smith to confirm...still showing that they're honoring requests on the website.

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/...4_750001_750051_757825_-1_757814_757812_image

 

[Skylow]

Great information guys. The only reason I thought that the 15,xxx was the SN is because it is the only recurring number on the gun. The j number is right, and it does match the grips without the letter, so the grips are original I guess, which I think is pretty cool. The main reasons I had as to getting it re nickeled is that there is slight pitting pretty much even over the whole gun. Also I didn't think that this gun was super old or rare, and was probably mass produced, and doesn't have that great of a collectors value, not that I plan on selling it, but would definitely effect my decision. I thought if it was only worth a few hundred dollars or something like that, that I would rather have a new finish on it, a "show" finish, but someone mentioned that it would take away all the factory stamping, so that's a consideration. Thanks for all the help guys, I was reading over different forums over an hour before I thought to post on here. I knew there were some people on here that really know there S&W's. One last thing, anyone know what the G10 means? It's stamped twice.

 

[Skylow]

The angle is bad, but the barrel comes in at about 1 3/4 inch.

 

[JWC]

Skylow, I do not know what the G10 means. Since the G10 is stamped on the frame and the yoke, it could mean that this is the assembly number for the yoke and the frame so they stay together. Or it could mean that the person who assembled the yoke to the frame was G10. Or there could be other meanings, I just don't know. However, the most important number on the gun is the serial number on the bottom of the frame.
The barrel length, measured from the tip of the barrel to the face of the cylinder, may be just short of 2" or just over 2". I have a M37 and the barrel length is just short of 2", but S&W will still refer to the M36 or M37 as having a 2" barrel.