Thanks for the pictures Daryl & Drew. From these it is rather easy to see why the gun had to be priced so high.

My info on this came from an article written by Roy Jinks back in 2002. My understanding is that Roy was never an employee of S&W but was a big-time Collector of their handguns & had done a considerable amount of research into their background. He was held in Very High Esteem by S&W personal for his work.

Miller/TN
I Didn't Say Everything I Said, Yogi Berra