Smith & WessonSmith & Wesson Model 37 Airweight Chiefs Special.38 Spl · Double Action (DA)

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Smith & Wesson Model 37 Airweight Chiefs Special

Name: Smith & Wesson Model 37 Airweight Chiefs Special
Brand: Smith & Wesson
SKU: prod_01KS3Q1PDHY90SZYB6WZAFA7MY

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Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Model 37 Airweight Chiefs Special .38 Spl Double Action (DA) — photo 2

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Model 37 Airweight Chiefs Special .38 Spl Double Action (DA) — photo 3

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Model 37 Airweight Chiefs Special .38 Spl Double Action (DA) — photo 4

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Model 37 Airweight Chiefs Special .38 Spl Double Action (DA) — photo 5

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Model 37 Airweight Chiefs Special .38 Spl Double Action (DA) — photo 6

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Model 37 Airweight Chiefs Special .38 Spl Double Action (DA) — photo 7

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Model 37 Airweight Chiefs Special .38 Spl Double Action (DA) — photo 8

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Model 37 Airweight Chiefs Special .38 Spl Double Action (DA) — photo 9

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Model 37 Airweight Chiefs Special .38 Spl Double Action (DA) — photo 10

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Model 37 Airweight Chiefs Special .38 Spl Double Action (DA) — photo 11

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Model 37 Airweight Chiefs Special .38 Spl Double Action (DA) — photo 12

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Model 37 Airweight Chiefs Special .38 Spl Double Action (DA) — photo 13

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Model 37 Airweight Chiefs Special .38 Spl Double Action (DA) — photo 14

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Model 37 Airweight Chiefs Special .38 Spl Double Action (DA) — photo 15

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Model 37 Airweight Chiefs Special .38 Spl Double Action (DA) — photo 16

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Model 37 Airweight Chiefs Special .38 Spl Double Action (DA) — photo 17

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Model 37 Airweight Chiefs Special .38 Spl Double Action (DA) — photo 18

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Model 37 Airweight Chiefs Special .38 Spl Double Action (DA) — photo 19

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Model 37 Airweight Chiefs Special .38 Spl Double Action (DA) — photo 20

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Model 37 Airweight Chiefs Special .38 Spl Double Action (DA) — photo 21

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Model 37 Airweight Chiefs Special .38 Spl Double Action (DA) — photo 22

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Model 37 Airweight Chiefs Special .38 Spl Double Action (DA) — photo 23

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Model 37 Airweight Chiefs Special .38 Spl Double Action (DA) — photo 24

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Model 37 Airweight Chiefs Special .38 Spl Double Action (DA) — photo 25

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Model 37 Airweight Chiefs Special .38 Spl Double Action (DA) — photo 26

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Model 37 Airweight Chiefs Special .38 Spl Double Action (DA) — photo 27

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Model 37 Airweight Chiefs Special .38 Spl Double Action (DA) — photo 28

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Model 37 Airweight Chiefs Special .38 Spl Double Action (DA) — photo 29

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Model 37 Airweight Chiefs Special .38 Spl Double Action (DA) — photo 30

Smith & Wesson

SKU: 156820

FBI Agent Documented

First-generation Smith & Wesson Model 37 Airweight Chiefs Special in .38 Special, carried by FBI Special Agent Joseph J. Palguta. Accompanied by signed Hoover correspondence, the original bill of sale, holsters, handcuffs, and Cold War espionage case documentation.

.38 Spl

Double Action (DA)

Barrel 2"

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About This Piece

Most snub-nose .38s tell you nothing about who carried them. This one comes with a paper trail that reads like a Cold War case file. The original 1957 bill of sale names the buyer outright: FBI Special Agent Joseph J. Palguta, badge number on the receipt, purchased through Charles Greenblatt of New York, a Smith & Wesson factory distributor that outfitted policemen and federal agents. From there the story only gets deeper.

Palguta worked espionage out of the New York field office during the height of the Hoover years. The accompanying letters, several signed by J. Edgar Hoover himself, commend him for his role in the Julius and Ethel Rosenberg investigation and the apprehension of Nelson Cornelius Drummond, a U.S. Navy yeoman convicted of passing classified material to Soviet contacts. The FBI report on the Drummond case is here, along with the Second Circuit appellate decision, signed Hoover and Clarence Kelley photographs, and Palguta's recognition letters spanning two decades of service.

The revolver is a first-generation Airweight, the J-frame Chief's Special built on an aluminum alloy frame to shed weight off the all-steel original. The 1 7/8 inch pinned barrel carries the AIRWEIGHT 38 SPL. CTG. roll mark, with a serrated ramp front and the squared frame-notch rear. Both barrel and cylinder wear deep blue against the black alloy frame. The diamond-center checkered walnut Magna grips keep their silver S&W medallions, and the black grip adaptor still sits in place.

Condition is honest. Light wear shows on the grips and the trigger face, the bore is bright, and the action locks up clean. It comes in a two-piece blue S&W box with the NOX-RUST wrapper and warranty card, plus both shoulder and belt holsters and a set of nickel handcuffs.

For a collector of Bureau history, the gun is only half the draw. The documents are what make it singular.

FBI Agent Provenance

Documented to Special Agent Joseph J. Palguta with the original 1957 bill of sale naming him as purchaser.

Signed Hoover Correspondence

Multiple commendation letters signed by J. Edgar Hoover, plus signed Hoover and Clarence Kelley photographs.

Cold War Casework

Tied to the Rosenberg espionage investigation and the Nelson Drummond Soviet spy case, with the FBI report and appellate decision included.

First-Generation Airweight

Early alloy-frame Chief's Special with pinned 1 7/8 inch barrel, blued, in its two-piece S&W box with wrapper and warranty card.

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