...that my S&W M19-2 has been factory refinished. According to the SN it was made in 1965 and I purchased it in 1982. It was my duty weapon while I was a reserve officer at a nearby small town. It was stolen from me (along with others) in 1987 and returned to me in 1990 after being held by the ATF for over a year. It has a very deep polished blue finish and I had always wondered it it had been re-blued, but the stampings are very crisp and edges still sharp so I did not think much of it. It is probably the most accurate revolver I own.
Yesterday I was looking through one of my collectors volumes on S&W and reading the section on factory refinishing. It gave several codes that would be stamped on the cylinder and on the grip frame. I brought it out and started checking. Sure enough, there were the small stamps on the cylinder face. Took off the grips and there were more marks indicating factory refinish along with what appears to be the date of 1979.
Makes me wonder what the original history of this revolver is. Was it a Police turn in that was refurbished? It does not matter to me since this is still my favorite .357.
