New Police Transition Gun?

[44spl]

I just bought my first Colt! Most the time I'm pretty good at research, but could use your input on this one. The revolver has New Police on the side plate. Serial no# 3104. By my own research, I'm thinking this must be a transition gun. On the barrel, the nickel must have been polished out at sometime and the 38 is a little hard to read. There are no other markings on the barrel. There is a little flaking on the nickle cylinder. How do I find out if the grips are factory ivory or replaced at a later date? A gunsmith thought that the barrel might have been cut down or replaced. Would like to know model #, year it was made, and value. Thanks. 44 SPL
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[thor447]

Ah, fellow okie. Congrats on your first Colt and welcome to you new addiction.

First of your gun value can be determined by what condition your firearm is in and if anything on it has been changed since it left the factory, such as grips, possibility of the barrel being cut (mentioned above), etc.. Values will always very based on demand and availability. You can use the Blue Book of Gun Values to get a pretty good estimate on what it is worth, then go from there depending on the demand for your gun. The book will not only give you values, but teach you about grading condition, all the little variances of the firearms that were made, etc.. It just has tons of great info.

I would not suggest buying the book from the source because you can find it far cheaper on overstock or amazon:
Amazon.com: Blue Book of Gun Values: 32nd Edition (9781936120086): S. P. Fjestad: Books

Your DOB inquiry can be researched through the excellent sticky post on the first page of the revolver section. Here you can determine your date of mfg. based upon the serial # of your firearm. I will be early in your case for sure.
For DOB ( Date of Birth) Questions , Please Look

Again welcome, and enjoy poking around here. Lots of good folks on here that have helped me out with info on some of my Colts.

And cool thing you being on Moore, OK.. I'm in Newcastle, OK myself. Just a stone's throw away.

Did you happen to pick up that Colt at the gun show today?? I was there myself and scored on a really nice Detective Special and Diamondback 2.5"
Best Deal I've Ever Got! - Nickel Det. Special and 2.5" Diamondback in .38SPL

[twaits]

You have an early Police Positive 38 manufactured in 1906. These used up leftover sideplates from the New Police guns in 32 caliber so as you stated it is considered a "transitional" gun. It has been cut down and nickeled at some point in it's life but looks like a decent job. The grips are likely worth as much as the gun if they are genuine ivory. It has little collector value as it has been cut and refinished.
That said, I absolutely love it as I have a weakness for short barreled revolvers. And I really love these early Colts with the old style trigger guard.
Let me know if you ever want to get rid of it

[twaits]

Oh and value wise I would imagine it would pull at least $300 if it is mechanically sound. Perhaps more if the grips are genuine ivory. I just recently paid $300 for a similarly cut down Police Positive .38 that had been chrome plated. i bought it primarily because it had a perfect set of real mother of pearl grips that I wanted for another Colt I had. I put repro grips on the Police Positive and now I slip it into my pocket every now and then

[44spl]

I purchased the gun off one my cousins after his dad passed away. He had no interest in guns and I gave him $250 even without researching yet. Just thought it was a neat old gun. I love buying guns and researching them, but since this is my first Colt I have little knowledge of them. So thank you for all the replies!

[twaits]

You did good at $250. Nice little snubbie.

[44spl]

A cool side note. My cousin gave me the full box of 38 sw shells that had the original reciept from Otasco Tire and Supply bought in 1975 for $6.98 ! Wish I could buy those for that price now! Havn't decided if I will reload for this or not.