Smith & Wesson New Model 3 Serial #1: Rarest .38-40
Smith & Wesson New Model 3 Serial #1: Rarest .38-40. Serial number one of only 74 Smith & Wesson New Model 3 revolvers chambered in .38-40 Winchester, shipped in 1901. A holy grail collectible with documented { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://greyhive.com#organization", "name": "Greyhive", "url": "https://greyhive.com", "description": "Greyhive is a censorship-resistant video platform for the firearms, 2A, hunting, and outdoor industries — where creators build, review, and monetize unfiltered content.", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://greyhive.com/static/uploads/images/ae198483-01c9-44b4-a16a-03f516ceaf66.svg", "width": 512, "height": 512 }, "sameAs": [ "https://x.com/greyhive", "https://www.instagram.com/greyhive/", "https://www.youtube.com/@Greyhive", "https://www.linkedin.com/company/greyhive/" ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://greyhive.com#website", "url": "https://greyhive.com", "name": "Greyhive", "description": "Greyhive is a censorship-resistant video platform for the firearms, 2A, hunting, and outdoor industries — where creators build, review, and monetize unfiltered content.", "publisher": { "@id": "https://greyhive.com#organization" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://greyhive.com/c/guns_com#person", "name": "Guns.com", "url": "https://greyhive.com/c/guns_com", "description": "Guns.com is a Greyhive creator producing original 2A, firearms, hunting, and outdoor content.", "image": "https://greyhive.com/lazy-static/avatars/051ae4b8-b4ad-436d-b320-52e0e58d4b5c.png" }, { "@type": "Article", "@id": "https://greyhive.com/blog/smith-wesson-new-model-3-serial-1-rarest-38-40#article", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://greyhive.com#website" }, "mainEntityOfPage": { "@id": "https://greyhive.com/blog/smith-wesson-new-model-3-serial-1-rarest-38-40" }, "url": "https://greyhive.com/blog/smith-wesson-new-model-3-serial-1-rarest-38-40", "headline": "Smith & Wesson New Model 3 Serial #1: Rarest .38-40", "name": "Smith & Wesson New Model 3 Serial #1: Rarest .38-40", "description": "Serial number one of only 74 Smith & Wesson New Model 3 revolvers chambered in .38-40 Winchester, shipped in 1901. A holy grail collectible with documented", "articleSection": "Gun Reviews", "articleBody": "The Smith & Wesson New Model 3 serial #1 chambered in .38-40 Winchester is a documented holy-grail collectible — one of only 74 New Model 3 revolvers Smith & Wesson ever produced in that caliber, shipped from the factory on July 24, 1901. In a Guns.com Vault feature filmed at the Smith & Wesson headquarters in Maryville, Tennessee, host Alexander walks through the revolver alongside Mike Helms of the Smith & Wesson Collectors Association and Historical Foundation. Helms, widely regarded as the leading living authority on Smith & Wesson history, calls it \"one of these holy grail Smith & Wessons\" — a gun so rare that seeing one in a lifetime is remarkable. This one carries serial number one from a factory range that ran only 1 to 74. It shipped to Trich Hardware in Denver, Colorado, making it, in Helms' words, \"truly a western gun in every sense of the word.\" What separates this piece from most century-old auction guns is the paper trail. It comes with a Roy Jinks factory letter documenting the original order and destination, with a second authentication letter from Helms being written to accompany it. Key Takeaways Only 74 Smith & Wesson New Model 3 revolvers were made in .38-40 Winchester — and this is serial #1 of that dedicated 1–74 range. It shipped from the factory July 24, 1901 to Trich Hardware in Denver, Colorado. The New Model 3 was among the m…