Nickel Iver Johnson Safety Hammerless Revolver - .38 S&W w/ Signed Letter

Description

10/20/26 - This is an Iver Johnson Safety Automatic Hammerless revolver chambered in .38 S&W, manufactured in the early 1900s. Made by Iver Johnson's Arms & Cycle Works of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, the Safety Automatic Hammerless was one of the most popular pocket revolvers of its day, with millions produced between 1895 and 1941. Its enclosed hammer made it a snag-free gun for the pocket or purse, and it was carried by civilians and law enforcement officers alike. The gun has retained roughly 40% of its factory nickel finish, with obvious heavy patina and discoloration throughout. Fitted with flat black plastic grips. Fully functional. The bore is 5/10, with good rifling but spots of pitting and oxidation here and there. According to the consignor, the gun came with a handwritten letter signed by retired Sergeant Don Nix of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. The letter is his signed statement of the gun's history and is transcribed below, but we cannot confirm anything written in it, and the letter does not identify the gun by its serial number (it does say the gun has no serial number). In the letter he refers to the gun as a "38 Cal S&W"; it is actually an Iver Johnson chambered in .38 S&W. It also comes with two copies of American Rifleman magazine. One of them features an Iver Johnson Safety Automatic Hammerless like this one, but with a different serial number, so it is not directly related to this gun.

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Transcription of the letter: "This 38 Cal S&W was obtained by me from a New York Transit Police Lt. by the name of Chuck Bentencourt. Lt. Betencourt informed me that it was used by a suspect in a shoot out in New York around 1950. The suspect was shot during the incident and the gun was recovered from him. The stain on the gun (that has no serial number) was reported to be the suspects. It was never properly cleaned and the gun was forever stained. I suspect the shootout ended in the suspects death but I was unable to confirm that. The pistol has been in my possession since 1979 and was used as a back-up gun during my law enforcement career. It went out of service upon my retirement in 2000." - Don Nix, Retired Sgt, San Diego County Sheriffs Dept