[snakeman99]

Well, I'm finally feeling a bit better and am able to sit upright and join in with you guys again. A great big THANK YOU for all the get well wishes & prayers. Now lets get back to the Colt stuff...

Last week just before I was rushed back to the hospital, I had found a unique Detective Special. This gun is described in Gary Peer's book as the "Pre" or "Transitional" Detective Special. The serial number of the gun falls within the range quoted by Peer. It also has all the features listed as being "correct" for this model: barrel stampings, polished/blued topstrap, plain trigger, and narrow grips. It also has an Archive Letter. With all the health stuff going on lately I have yet to get the gun in my hands, but here are a few pics to wet your whistle:

 

[snakeman99]

 

[phyllis1]

Absolutely beautiful Pre Detective Special! But I object to the letter. Shouldn't it letter as a 2" Police Positive Special. I have # 341114, 69 units away.

 

[saintclair]

phyllis, I think you are correct. My narrow grip frame 2" at serial number 346807 lettered in 2013 as a Detective Special, but I asked Paul to check that for me and he re-lettered it in 2015 as a 2" Police Positive Special. Paul is the man who has put some time in studying these.

 

[snakeman99]

You might very well be correct. These guns are in a very "gray" area to be sure. According to Gary Peer's book "the first named Detective Special serial numbers began appearing in the high 340000 range, so the serial number window for these pre-Detective Specials is fairly narrow considering the longer barrel versions were also produced in this range of approximately 10,000 guns". Peer goes on to "guestimate" that less than a few hundred were ever produced in the 2" barrel length. The range for these "Pre-Detective Specials" should number between 336000 and 345000.

Maybe I should ask Paul about getting this gun re-lettered...

 

[Kahrman]

Man, you find all the cool stuff. Very nice!!

 

[Mosby]

How's the saying go? "A rose by another name" That's a sweet one for sure. Thanks for sharing Russ. Glad you're feeling better.

Tom

 

[twaits]

The 2" PPS or "Pre-Detective" Specials may just be my favorite of all the Colt snubbies. I would love to have one.
Nice snag that gun looks beautiful!

 

[Malysh]

Congratulations are in order!

I have Colt factory 2" bbl. Police Positive Special, narrow round butt, SN 348953 and matching SN'd box. The Colt letter states it was shipped to the US Govt., Wash D.C. on Feb. 26th, 1931 in a shipment of 577 guns.
The serial number dates the frame to 1928, but the date of sale is 3 years later. It has the smooth top strap, correctly marked barrel, and non checkered trigger as well, so it's definitely a factory 2" Police Positive Special, no matter when it sold.

It went through 2 previous owners from our forum and we had a lively discussion about it about 5-6 years ago. A1A, I know you still read the forum posts. If you can ever find the thread, I'd appreciate you contacting me so I can re-read it.

Maybe I'll post pictures of it in another thread soon, but I don't want to steal your thunder here.

Best,
Mike

 

[snakeman99]

Yeah, I'd love to review the old thread and see pics of your gun.

 

[Malysh]

Yeah, I'd love to review the old thread and see pics of your gun.

I just spent 30 minutes trying to find that thread with no luck. No one was better at finding old threads than A1A.

Mine is the one that has the front sight that was notched for an insert, which is missing. Still a very cool Colt.

Maybe I'll re-post the revolver sometime soon.

 

[saintclair]

Malysh, It would fit well in this thread.

 

[Malysh]

True, but not fair to snakeman99.
It's his show!

 

[thecoltguy]

Russ. Great find and a perfect addition to your collection. The Achieve Department will correct the letter as it is a Police Positive Special. I have seen this happen a few times before. We have had a couple of threads before on the 2" Police Positive Special so you may want to look back at them. We discussed the production time frame and serial numbers.

Glad your feeling better and back with us.

 

[po18guy]

Man! That is a hen's tooth! Those who wonder if their latest acquisition has been refinished need only look at this example. Those frame flats are flat. No dishing, no waves. That's how Colt's did them and that's how they should look.

 

[JudgeColt]

I thought the improper labeling of these 2-inch Police Positive Specials had been corrected years ago. I am surprised to see a September 2016 letter making that old mistake. Send the letter back to have it reissued for what the revolver is - a 2-inch Police Positive Special, NOT a Detective Special.

I have yet to see a letter on one of these guns that did not reference a special order number. I also cannot recall a special order number not followed by "/100." I have always believed that number referred to the number of guns in that special order. I theorize that these guns were built in batches of 100 (except for perhaps Malysh's gun, which apparently is one of a large military order). The fact that there may have been 100 guns in a particular order number does not mean that all 100 guns were shipped to the same destination at the same time. (Mine was a single gun shipment five months after the gun was made.)

Another interesting observation is that the serial number range of many of these guns (mine included) appears to be in the 1928 time frame according to the serial number charts, but the guns shipped in the 1926 time frame. A knowledgeable old Colt collector told me that, when Colt was going to make a run of non-standard guns, often a serial number range not yet reached would be selected. Whether that is true or not, that theory explains the 1928 range serial numbers for the 1926 guns.

Another interesting observation on these guns is that the name "Colt" does not appear on the gun anywhere, except on the wood stock medallions.

Nice gun! You are lucky to have found such a nice one.

 

[up196]

Very nice find, Snakeman! I had mine at the range on St. Valentines Day; it's a great shooter.

 

[snakeman99]

True, but not fair to snakeman99.
It's his show!

No, by all means. If you can find it, please post a link or feel free to add to this thread...

 

[snakeman99]

It also came with a real nice box/test target/cleaning tool that are from a DS dating to 1939:

 

[twaits]

I just spent 30 minutes trying to find that thread with no luck. No one was better at finding old threads than A1A.

Mine is the one that has the front sight that was notched for an insert, which is missing. Still a very cool Colt.

Maybe I'll re-post the revolver sometime soon.

Found it Malysh:

http://www.coltforum.com/forums/col...ur-pre-detective-special-frame-pics-mine.html