“Sleepers” are what I call the guns that have a value above what would be considered normal and have not been bandied about in public much. These are the guns that have a special feature nobody noticed, were involved in a famous incident but not recorded as such, or belonged to a (in)famous person but the identity got lost in time.
As I cruise the late night firearms forums, I will see somebody post an image of their latest acquisition. If the gun strikes a chord with me and the serial number is shown, I’ll run the gun just to see if its Something Special™. If it is, I’ll recommend the fellow get a letter and explain why. Sometimes the responses can be….prolific.
Smith & Wesson Registered Magnum #47004/RM548 – A Registered Magnum that went to the Director of Public Health & Sanitation in Monrovia, Liberia in 1935 and somehow made it back to the US in great condition with ivory grips and an exceptional S.D. Myers belt and holster. It then ‘slept’ in a collection for a few decades before cropping up on an internet forum.
There are two parts to this:
- Part 1 – My write up of the gun
- Part 2 – Massive .pdf document dump of the supporting documents
Smith & Wesson .44 Hand Ejector 2nd Model #20497 – A well worn 2nd Model Hand Ejector that probably would not get a second glance on a gun show table. However, once we check the shipping records it springs to life as the sidearm of a prolific Tennessee Revenue Agent during Prohibition who was also quite close to Alvin York. How close? Well, he’s standing next the the Governor and York at York’s wedding! The gun of a man who got on the scoreboard on World War One and then come home and kept racking them up…