[Colt788]

I have a Colt Python 6" .357 Mag nickel. I have tried for a long time to find the date for it and haven't been able to find it. Is there any way any of you could help me out?

 

[jcs]

Try this Colt look-up:
Colt Firearm Serial Number Lookup - Year of Manufacture

 

[Colt788]

I have gone there before and it says no results found.

 

[Colt788]

What other options are there to find out this info?

 

[c.marsh]

what is the serial number ???

 

[Colt788]

V46xxx. By the trigger guard it has a diamond towards the barrel and a N by the handle

 

[jcs]

V01001 is listed as 1978 on the proofhouse.com site. Yours would be sometime after that date.

 

[Colt788]

Would you think its in the 70's or 80's. My dad bought it some time before I was born and I was born in 1987. I got it 2 years ago from him as a birthday and Christmas gift. Since I was a little kid I've always loved the gun. Know I just want to get some more info on it.

 

[jcs]

Probably 1980's but perhaps one of our members will help you.

 

[mikegs430]

Your Python was made in 1979. A great gift indeed from your father

 

[Rejcpa]

Like mikegs430 said, your Python is a 1979. You are very lucky to have a father that kept the gun that long. You should keep it and pass it on to your child some day. If you don't have any kids I'm available for adoption.

 

[bsmalley23]

mikegs430 is correct. It was made in '79. I see a lot of people ask about dates on here. Even though most can be researched online, post '80 serials cannot, well I shouldn't say cannot as the colt website sometimes pops newer ones up but a lot of the time (when it counts) they don't return an answer. I would recommend that anyone really interested pick up the two pocket manual books for Colts. The date book and the value book. I went to abebooks dotcom and paid $25 for both and that included the shipping. I love them. I also have digital copies of the Jerry K. repair manuals, the 1st vol, 2nd vol, and the 1911 repair manual. They are in pdf. If anybody needs some info out of them PM me.

 

[TFlyboy]

There is a list of serial numbers up to 1985 out on Colt Python. I copied those out into my own format and keep a list with me.

The other option is to get the Blue Book list of Colt Serial Numbers.

Year:	Serial Numbers:	Production:
1978	V01001 - V36736	35,736
1979	V36737 - V88373	51,636
1980	V88374 - V99999	11,625

 

[gatewayad]

I got a question maybe someone can answer most years (after 1969) it looks like there was one run of letters per year but in 1980 there were Pythons made with 5 different letter groups, anyone know why or what happened that year?

1980	V88374	V99999	11,625
1980	AL01001	AL9999	8,999
1980	LA0101	LA9999	9,899
1980	VA1001	VA9256	8,256
1980	K01001	K16265	15,265

 

[TFlyboy]

I got a question maybe someone can answer most years (after 1969) it looks like there was one run of letters per year but in 1980 there were Pythons made with 5 different letter groups, anyone know why or what happened that year?

1980	V88374	V99999	11,625
1980	AL01001	AL9999	8,999
1980	LA0101	LA9999	9,899
1980	VA1001	VA9256	8,256
1980	K01001	K16265	15,265

Just a guess, but it looks like they shortened the lettered serial numbers from 99,999 to 9,999 for a little while... and then went back to the 99,999 serial numbering.

5 numerical digits as compared to 4 numerical digits.

 

[bsmalley23]

If you think that is bad, just look at the lettering and serial numbers for the King Cobras. They are a mess.

 

[BrunoEss]

thanks for the info bsmalley

 

[JohnnyP]

TFlyboy, 1979 production would have been 51,637, and 1980 production 11,626 to come up with the 98,999 total production with the V suffix.