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S&W 1917 Brazilian Contract, Import or not?
bigtire
Member Posts: 24,800
I have a Brazilian Contract S&W 1917 D.A. 45 with 1937 Brazilian Crest, SN 165,7XX. I have gathered from the little bit of research I have done that this is a very early Brazilian Contract 1917. There also seems to be a vast difference in value between import an non-import guns. I cannot find any modern import marks. If it is an import, where is it marked and what is it marked with?
Thanks
Thanks
Comments
If it did have import marks, they would be in a fairly prominent location.
Johnny
ADDED: Sorry, you asked what the import mark would consist of. It would be the name and location of the importer, such as C.A.I. ST. ALBANS, VT (Century Arms International, Saint Albans,Vermont).
Look on the underside of the barrel. Very small, hard to see lettering. Use a magnifying glass, and go over the barrel, very closely.
Most of those that you will find are from a batch imported in the 1970's. All were import marked. Condition of most was not very good, & they were refinished (parkerized).
I have seen a few Brazilian contract guns in excellent condition & with the original polished blue finish; I don't know how these got into the country, but I believe that these are the ones that have a high value.
So, if yours has a rough black finish & import markings, value is not very high.
Neal