[elliotf]

This is another one of those Colt “sleepers” for you collectors. If you can find one, grab it.

It is a 1926 Police Positive Special with a 2” barrel. The barrel is only marked “38 Special” on the left with no Colt’s address. It is known as the Pre Detective Special.

This one was sold to the Citizens Saving Bank and shipped to the H&D Folsom Arms Co. in New York, 6/26/1926.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/reports/2466.pdf

From the information I can find, in the latter half of 1926 Colt offered these on a custom ordered, limited basis, prior to naming them Detective Specials. Most of these were sold for Plain Clothes Detectives; therefore the name Detective Special was derived. No one knows for sure, but per the books I have read only 100-150 are thought to have been made, maybe less.

If anyone has any additional information on these please chime in. TIA

 

[elliotf]

A few more pictures:

 

[wflorence]

Feel free to look at mine....

Colt Pre-Detective Photos by airbornewings | Photobucket

 

[wflorence]

Ignore the Heiser 1911 holster....
Not sure why thats in this album...

 

[elliotf]

Feel free to look at mine....

Colt Pre-Detective Photos by airbornewings | Photobucket

Great looking snubby..

 

[twaits]

Nice. These things are hard to find. I should have bought the one I saw at the Poulin Auction 4 or 5 years back. There was a prewar Detective Special and a 2" Police Positive special in one lot that went for a little over $800 for the two.
That was before I knew anything about the Pre-detective specials...

 

[elliotf]

FYI, below is a link to a 3 year old, very long and informative, thread on the 2" Police Positive Special started by wflorence.

http://www.coltforum.com/forums/col...detective-police-positve-questions-story.html

 

[11866]

Does anyone have hard numbers on quantity made? Sorry if it is in that other thread I don't have a lot of time to read through it right now…

 

[wflorence]

From what I got on another forum: Not saying its fact but interesting

"It appears that “maybe” Colt made somewhere between 100 to 1,000 PPS two inch revolvers before phasing them out. No one seems to know for sure and some “experts” believe the “100 gun” figure is closer to correct.

 

[tjmolil]

I just bought a police positive 38 although I haven't received it yet, now I'm really looking forward to it. Here is a picture I made purchase from.

 

[wflorence]

Lucky find...she is pretty....

 

[elliotf]

Does anyone have hard numbers on quantity made? Sorry if it is in that other thread I don't have a lot of time to read through it right now…

As said above, no one knows for sure. Per Gary Peer's book, They were manufactured in the latter half of 1927 (not shipped) and found in the S/N range of 336000 to 345000. (the larger DS grip frame with the 38 special barrel is another collectable)

His "guestimate" is less than 1000 were produced "and probably in the neighborhood of a few hundred."

 

[elliotf]

I just bought a police positive 38 although I haven't received it yet, now I'm really looking forward to it. Here is a picture I made purchase from.

View attachment 68992

2" PPS 1927 = Pre DS.. what a nice one

 

[Malysh]

I just received Colt 2" factory barrel PPS aka pre DS SN. 348953 on Mon.
The frame dates the gun to 1928, but it was shipped on Feb 21 1931 to the US Government Wash DC in a shipment of 577 guns of the same model, per the Colt letter.


It's stamped 38 Special on left side of the barrel, it has a smooth and highly polished and blued top strap & rear sight channel, a smooth trigger face, a checkered hammer, narrow square butt, etc.

I am the 3rd.forum member to have this gun and original box. It's the pre DS witb the notched front sight. There was a long thread about it but I can't find it.

I have some new & important info on that gun & shipment but I'll start a new thread.

 

[Ronald12]

Pictures Mike pictures!!


Ron

I just received Colt 2" factory barrel PPS aka pre DS SN. 348953 on Mon.
The frame dates the gun to 1928, but it was shipped on Feb 21 1931 to the US Government Wash DC in a shipment of 577 guns of the same model, per the Colt letter.


It's stamped 38 Special on left side of the barrel, it has a smooth and highly polished and blued top strap & rear sight channel, a smooth trigger face, a checkered hammer, narrow square butt, etc.

I am the 3rd.forum member to have this gun and original box. It's the pre DS witb the notched front sight. There was a long thread about it but I can't find it.

I have some new & important info on that gun & shipment but I'll start a new thread.

 

[saintclair]

Wow!! Great little guns! I have been looking for one for many years.

 

[Malysh]

1926 was the first year Colt cataloged a 2" bbl. PPS. They were not a custom order in a strict sense.

In 1927, Colt first marketed the 2" bbl. PPS as the DS. The rest, as they say, is history.

Colt made a lot more than a couple of 100 of these - most probably a couple of thousand. The govt alone probably bought close to 2K of.them according to some information I recently obtained from Joe C., the Colt Asst. Historian.

Details to follow in another thread.

 

[Flyfishit]

I don't much about these but it seems odd Colt would start a line of the same thing with a different name after only making and selling so few. I would think the sales (I.e. Market Analysis) would have been greater before making and marketing a model based on 100 or so orders. Just a thought and most of know way more than I do.

 

[BigG]

I have a DS in the 320K serial range. What year would that be?

 

[twaits]

I just received Colt 2" factory barrel PPS aka pre DS SN. 348953 on Mon.
The frame dates the gun to 1928, but it was shipped on Feb 21 1931 to the US Government Wash DC in a shipment of 577 guns of the same model, per the Colt letter.


It's stamped 38 Special on left side of the barrel, it has a smooth and highly polished and blued top strap & rear sight channel, a smooth trigger face, a checkered hammer, narrow square butt, etc.

I am the 3rd.forum member to have this gun and original box. It's the pre DS witb the notched front sight. There was a long thread about it but I can't find it.

I have some new & important info on that gun & shipment but I'll start a new thread.

Malysh,

I think I remember that gun. That was a really nice one although a little odd with the notch in the front sight. I can't remember exactly what the notch looked like but do you think someone had an insert in there at one time?