That's a beautiful gun!
Found a Very Special "Pre-Detective Special"
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:
![Firearm Gun Revolver Trigger Gun barrel]()
![Revolver Gun Firearm Cylinder]()
![Firearm Gun Revolver Trigger Gun barrel]()
![Firearm Gun Revolver Trigger Starting pistol]()
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:
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A correction will be issued to snakeman99’s letter. The ones I have seen with the error have usually been reported to us as Detective Specials, and we missed the change when we sent the letter.
Of interest to note - the only location in the records which actually makes any clear cutoff as far as a transition from a 2" PP Special to a DS is the one I screenshot below. And, here it only mentions a ship date, as opposed to an assembly date, which further muddies the waters. If only the ledger keepers had cared about us.
Anyway, the general reasoning here is that before this date posted in the ledgers (October 21, 1927), we will letter them as Police Positive Specials, and after as Detective Specials. I am certain there is room for overlap here, as Radical Rod’s letter shows – based on the Factory Order # / 100 reasoning that JudgeColt supplied earlier (spot on, as usual), that the gun is probably righteous. Unfortunately, the old factory orders are no longer in our archives, which would be pretty convenient for this situation.
Unfortunately, there is no notation in the production / manufacture date records to give us a clear cutoff date, serial number, or anything else to hang our hats on outside of this one notation.
Also, if anyone is interested, the notation reads:
1[SUP]st[/SUP] ship calling for Dec. Sp.
Geller, Ward, & Hasner Oct. 21 1927
Of interest to note - the only location in the records which actually makes any clear cutoff as far as a transition from a 2" PP Special to a DS is the one I screenshot below. And, here it only mentions a ship date, as opposed to an assembly date, which further muddies the waters. If only the ledger keepers had cared about us.
Anyway, the general reasoning here is that before this date posted in the ledgers (October 21, 1927), we will letter them as Police Positive Specials, and after as Detective Specials. I am certain there is room for overlap here, as Radical Rod’s letter shows – based on the Factory Order # / 100 reasoning that JudgeColt supplied earlier (spot on, as usual), that the gun is probably righteous. Unfortunately, the old factory orders are no longer in our archives, which would be pretty convenient for this situation.
Unfortunately, there is no notation in the production / manufacture date records to give us a clear cutoff date, serial number, or anything else to hang our hats on outside of this one notation.
Also, if anyone is interested, the notation reads:
1[SUP]st[/SUP] ship calling for Dec. Sp.
Geller, Ward, & Hasner Oct. 21 1927
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