Arms, Armor and Militaria

9mm. 4" barrel. SN: A490100. Blued finish, bright barrel, checkered nylon Smith & Wesson logo grips. Conventional double action tilting-barrel short recoil semi-automatic pistol with adjustable square notch rear sight, serrated ramp front sight, slide mounted safety/de-cocker lever, grooved backstrap, internal magazine disconnect safety and lanyard loop in butt. Reverse of slide with four-line marking reading MADE IN U.S.A./MARCAS REGISTRADAS/SMITH & WESSON/SPRINGFIELD, MASS near the safety and with a larger SMITH & WESSON marking further forward. Left of frame marked with the serial number and MODEL 147A below the slide release. The "1" and the "A" are hand stamped and applied in front and behind the original model "47" designation. Obverse of slide marked PAT'S PENDING and obverse of frame with Smith & Wesson logo stamp. The pistol is accompanied by a total of two blued 9MM and S&W marked double-stack factory magazines and the original blue cardboard Smith & Wesson factory box with the cleaning rod, brush, bore mop and screwdriver still in their sealed plastic bag. The factory box has the correct end labels identifying it as original to this pistol.

Originally intended to be the Model 47, essentially a pre-production steel framed version of the Model 59, these guns were produced in 1979 as the direct predecessors and test platforms for what would come to market as the Model 559. Only 130 were produced and when Smith & Wesson decided to sell the unneeded test guns on the open market they were redesignated as the Model 147A and a "1" and an "A" were hand stamped on either side of the original "47" stamp. According to most sources 112 of these guns were sold commercially. Due to rarity and collectability, these guns are listed on the C&R List by the BATFE and are specifically granted that designation. A rare opportunity for the advanced collector of Smith & Wesson semi-auto pistols to obtain one of these very scarce pistols. {C&R}