Smith & Wesson Expands Relationship with Smith & Wesson Historical Foundation

Smith & Wesson‘s enduring relationship with the Smith & Wesson Historical Foundation will continue to expand, the Springfield, Massachusetts-based firearm manufacturer announced today. The foundation, designed to preserve, organize and digitize original S&W factory records, is now set to take over the company’s Letter of Authenticity process which originally started under former company historian Roy Jinks, who, in 1965, began providing S&W collectors with letters of authenticity. Jinks will continue to be involved in research and correspondence for the Letter of Authenticity service, the announcement confirms.

“The Foundation has worked tirelessly to preserve the Smith & Wesson archival collection for nearly a decade. At the same time, our Letter of Authenticity service, under Roy’s leadership, has become extremely popular and now requires added support. Combining these resources helps us to insure that our Letter of Authenticity service will support our loyal fans and collectors for a very long time. We are pleased to place this very important service in their capable and experienced hands,” Smith & Wesson Firearms President Matt Buckingham said in a press release.
The Smith & Wesson Historical Foundation has played a key role in raising over $600,000 for digitizing the original factory records at the Lyman & Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History in Springfield, Massachusetts.

“We are excited about this expansion of our relationship for two reasons. It allows us to welcome Roy Jinks to our team, and it allows us to channel revenue from the Letter of Authenticity process directly back in to our work toward preserving so many historical and treasured Smith & Wesson documents,” Bill Cross, Chairman of the Smith & Wesson Historical Foundation, said.
For more information, visit www.swhistoricalfoundation.com.