Smith & Wesson Hammerless Fifth Model .38

This S&W "Bicycle" was manufactured in 1940, the final year of production.
The New Departure Safety Hammerless model had gone through five iterations of changes and improvements, beginning with the First Model in 1887, and culminating with the Fifth Model in 1940.
A total of 261,493 Safety Hammerless revolvers were produced, of those, just 41,500 were Fifth Models, and only a small fraction of those were "Bicycles", the only model offered in .38 S&W with a 2” barrel.

A scarce and very collectible New Departure.

This piece retains ninety percent of the original factory nickel finish. There are light patches of oxidation around the barrel, however, the bore and cylinders are not affected, nor are any of the internal components. The metal remains in excellent condition, there is a single light mark under the muzzle and a few small nicks at the butt.
All the screw slots are in fine condition. The nomenclature and the S&W logo are strong, all numbers are matching, and the action is in perfect time. The breaking-action is solid, without play and the ejection operates smooth, with a strong “snap” on return.

Where it is common to find the cylinder face and forcing cone of these Top-breaks covered black in corrosion and pitted, primarily due to the corrosive powders and primers used at the time, this piece shows bright factory nickel, and a clean bore with deep lands and grooves with bright cylinders.
This, combined with the condition of the internals, indicates this "Bicycle" has been fired very little.

The piece has been professionally cleaned, inspected and preserved.