The mentioned serial number is among prewar N frame Smiths, and would, in fact, be a "Registered .357 Magnum" model that is so sought after by collectors. Jinks doesn't seem to mention the serial number of the Hoover gun in his book. Various models of N frame guns are in a continuous run of numbers, so the original Registered .357 Magnums are mixed in with others of the same frame size. Hoover's gun is not number one, but the number is probably known by Smith and Wesson students. A fellow in my gun club bought the second .44 Magnum made, General Julian Hatcher's prototype, in a parking lot transaction and found out what he had bought by reading Jinks.
