LAST 1955 357 FLATTOP SHIPPED????

[tommygun]

I acquired #1748. According to RL Wilson the last one shipped in 1955 was #1736 ( Info used by RENE )
John Dougan lists #1750 as the last one shipped. Well I had mine lettered and it shipped December of 1955. Oh happy days :lol: :lol: :lol: . Trying to complete my First Year .357 display and this is the bookend. Also 13XX is soon coming my way. Sooo, now just need 11XX, 12XX and 16XX. BTW the display will now include consecutive 10XX's. Life is good :wink:

 

[pruger45]

Gonna shoot it?

 

[tommygun]

Probably won't shoot it. No need. I have collectors and shooters.

 

[contender]

Kudos Tom!!!!!!!!!!!!
Do you happen to know where #1750 is? Does Dougan?
Looking forward to seeing your display!

pruger45,, many of us do as Tom does. We buy guns for collecting & others for shooting. THAT"S why we can preserve the history & knowledge of Sturm, Ruger & Co.

 

[radicalrod]

Tom, that is a great find.....isn't chasing numbers fun :roll: :roll: :roll: RR

 

[street]

When it is stated that a certain serial numbered gun such as 1750 or 1736 is the last gun shipped in 1955. It means that that gun is the last gun shipped on the last day of the year. It is possible that there were higher numbered guns shipped before the last day of the year. such as guns with 100 or 200 higher serial numbers. It is also possible that guns with lower serial numbers will be shipped in 1956. You have to realize that Ruger doesn't manufacture guns in order of serial numbers. They only stamp the frames in order of the serial numbers, low to high. Certain guns may have a problem in manufacturing and it may take a day or longer to get it fixed so that a few hundred guns will be shipped and then this lower serial number will be shipped day or days later. Only a letter from Ruger will give you the actual shipping date.

 

[tommygun]

You are all on point. RR chasing numbers is addicting but fun! Tyrone well said and I have contacted JD. Waiting on a response and yes Street we know there are few constants with Ruger. JD's ship dates do say
"approximate." I am thrilled it lettered as a December, 1955 gun. OK RR and back to the addiction/sickness I had bought a back up 1703 that is shooter grade as a back up just in case 1748 it did not letter :roll:

 

[SteveRuger]

Nice Old Gun!
Great find.

 

[Ale-8(1)]

Way to go, Tommy!

I have added the ship date on Bob's List.

 

[tommygun]

According to JD, there is no way to know the last one shipped in any given year without a letter. All are approximations.

 

[Ale-8(1)]

That said, it's not likely that a letter would actually say "last one shipped in (year)". All the letter will tell us is WHEN it shipped. We have to look at the collected data of those who actually keep track of such stuff to see what APPEARS to be the last one shipped in any given year. At present, Tommy's #1748 shows up on Bob's List as the "last one shipped in 1955". That said, there are LOWER numbered guns that show as shipped in 1956. Street's point is well-made . . . they got shipped in somewhat random order and the serial number alone does not pin down the actual ship date of any gun, or even the ship YEAR.

Bob's List includes several guns whose serial numbers would seem to indicate they shipped in December of 1955 or January of 1956, but we don't have ship dates for these and I make no claim for their ship dates. All I'll say is any particular gun falls within a particular range of ship dates and add that a letter is required to pin one down for certain. The List gives a snapshot of what has been observed and noted on a strictly amateur basis and as such is for our consideration and amusement only. Bob was simply trying to make a little sense of what he saw, and I've attempted to keep up with that approach as seen here with my recording of #1748. I am, after all, merely Bob's clerk.

 

[Doc4429]

Based on my limited information, and since Ruger did not ship in serial number order, it is likely a lower serial numbered .357 shipped after a higher numbered gun. If Ruger ever provides complete shipping date information (day, month, and year), perhaps the last .357 shipped in 1955 can actually be determined.

Bill

 

[Ale-8(1)]

Historically, Ruger letters only include month and year of shipment. There are exceptions to this, of course . . . as with everything Ruger.

Point is, we'll never know until someone finds, letters, and reports on a gun so lettered. This is why it's important for folks to share their information with us. For what it's worth, Bob's List does NOT record names of gun owners. This is important to some folks, and we respect that.

 

[gtxmonte]

I have a question for you "number guys" and it is actually a serious question. Does anything make the last gun of a certain year or the first gun of a certain year, actually worth any more money than any other gun shipped the same year. Provided there are no changes from year to year, they are identical and only differentiated by when they left the factory, which as pointed out, is NOT in numerical order. So does it matter

 

[contender]

I think the idea of collecting has many facets. Such as the consecutive numbered guns, or in this case, the last gun or first gun shipped as a year changes.
When a company is young & struggling, record keeping, (especially in that era,) wasn't as big a deal as it becomes once the company is successful. But good, solid records of a desirable item & all the changes or whatever is the actual history of the company.
Example, look at Colt.
By having good records, they can show where a gun was shipped & many other details such as who ordered it. Historical figures attached to an object can often be valued much higher, due to the provenience.
With Ruger, those of us deeply interested in the history, by chasing such stuff, we are the ones gathering the history & knowledge that can be preserved for future generations. But, thanks to the way Bill Ruger ran things, we all know how "anything can happen."
So, getting the "last gun shipped," or the "first gun shipped" around a year change is but a niche in collecting.
I call it "Rugeritis." And, as a collector, I do NOT want a cure.

 

[gtxmonte]

I understand all that, but it really didn't answer the question. And that was, is the first or last worth more? And with the way Ruger did things, could you EVER be sure? And if the answer to second question is no, what about question one.............just curious.

Maybe it should be a more personal question........To YOU how much of a premium would the first or last add to the price. I know what it would add for ME, but I am NOT a numbers chaser

 

[tommygun]

This is difficult to answer. Since we can never be absolutely sure that we definitively have the last, it will always be subjective. Ale is correct in commenting on "known/learned" data. I don't believe that you could place a premium on it except for a select few collectors. It needs to fit your niche or theme of your display. In my case I was searching for certain numbers for my first year display. I might be willing to pay a little more for a higher number that was shipped in 1955. It just comes back to "worth whatever somebody is willing to pay". As a friend calls it "the pucker factor".

 

[radicalrod]

Well as TOMMY G states it might only mean/be valued by a few serious guys....

Heck I bought serial number 85 M77 in 308 at a gun show and the guy never even had any idea what he had....

To the seller it was just an old rifle.....

I gave the guy $400 and Scott gave me a whole pile more $$$$$ :roll: :roll: :roll:

The funny part is the guy had walked it through the show before I saw it....

no one else noticed what it was or cared till a numbers guy saw it.....knowledge is power....RR

 

[Ale-8(1)]

And consider this.

In order for a gun to be declared the absolute first or last gun shipped in any particular year, we'd have to know the exact day it shipped . . . but wait, there's more.

On any given day, there will be a CONSIDERABLE number of guns shipped. Do we really think Ruger's records can pin the exact hour/minute/ second a specific gun ships? Nah, they know they shipped a bunch of guns having these serial numbers and that's it . . . unless Ruger went to all the trouble to ship and document a single gun on December 31 or January 1. Not likely, IMHO.

So the first/last distinction will only be sorta realized by what we see in the field that gets reported and put on somebody's list or data base. After that, it's all after-hours squabbling over drinks. And that sounds like fun.

 

[rugerguy]

especially when after all the serial numbers are just that a"numbered" order of manufacturing, not really in the order they are made, as the numbers can be applied , ONE at a time, , then maybe built on a series of workbenches by a group?? of assemblers ( builders) put together tested , and then shipped ,again NOT in any semblance of order............as has been told in Ruger lore over the years, the folks take a pile of guns off the bench, go over to shipping, set the pile down, get another pile and come a place them on TOP of the first pile ,,,,now the lowest number gun is at the BOTTOM of the pile??? whats gets picked up, wrapped, and boxed first??? certainly NOT in order....
AND what if there is a problem, issue , and the gun has to go back into and through the system for some sort of repair or adjustment??? again, NOT in order.....very subjective and opinionated 8) :roll: :wink:


and I can add for example one 44 flatop 3 digit gun we had years ago, was in the #47x range, shipped the first week of Dec 1956, and my friend got another 3 digit in the #9xx range, and it was shipped last week of Nov....Mine had black hard rubber grips, and his had walnuts,,,,hhhmmm :? :wink: