[Kitrobaskin]

Although I have posted this on the introductions section, we are hoping there are folks on this forum who can answer a question about my cousin's Police Positive. 4 inch, 38 special, with maybe 95% original finish, holster wear with grandfather's original holster, does not appear to have been shot much, said to have been issued to him between the world wars when he was transporting mail on an airplane. Anyone here have an understanding what this is? Any speculation regarding value? I think my cousin wants to keep it but not positive. Thanks very much in advance. I have shot Colt weapons and own two right now, Love em.

 

[dfariswheel]

If it's a .38 Special your gun is actually a Colt Police Positive Special. The Police Positive was a model with a shorter frame and cylinder for use with old short cartridges like the .32 and .38 S&W.
The basic action is the same just a shorter frame and cylinder.

Stamps like this are almost always police, government department, or private company identification marks.

"CAC" 20 would probably be a stamp for a private company, possible an air line or air freight company, with "No 20" being the issue number.
You might do some search engine searches for what air line related companies were in business back then that had CAC initials.
"Century Air Charter", Century Air Cargo" etc.

Value depends on actual condition. Condition is rated as the amount of original factory finish remaining, the gun being in correct working order, having the original grips, and not having pitting in the bore or chambers.
Assuming an actual 95%, value would be around $450.

 

[Kitrobaskin]

Outstanding, Thank you. Checked on proofhouse.com and saw 1930-31 for manufacture. From what you are saying, the CAC marking does not really make it a more valuable piece, is that correct?

 

[longranger]

That is mostly correct, their are exceptions such as Wells Fargo,Pinkerton and a few other early law enforcement or Fed.Gov. agencies as well as WWI,WWII military issue markings from specific units. Lots more can be said on firearms markings some significant most not really.

 

[Kitrobaskin]

Very interesting. And the original holster (has no markings evident) adds a little value? What about proper ammo if my cousin wants to shoot it, I am guessing no +P ?

 

[Oyeboten]

Although I have posted this on the introductions section, we are hoping there are folks on this forum who can answer a question about my cousin's Police Positive. 4 inch, 38 special, with maybe 95% original finish, holster wear with grandfather's original holster, does not appear to have been shot much, said to have been issued to him between the world wars when he was transporting mail on an airplane. Anyone here have an understanding what this is? Any speculation regarding value? I think my cousin wants to keep it but not positive. Thanks very much in advance. I have shot Colt weapons and own two right now, Love em.

Post some images!

They are worth 'a thousand words'.

 

[Kitrobaskin]

Pics

 

[dfariswheel]

Very interesting. And the original holster (has no markings evident) adds a little value? What about proper ammo if my cousin wants to shoot it, I am guessing no +P ?

Holsters usually don't add any value unless they're by a famous maker. It's value is in being a family heirloom. with the gun.

Since the gun is an old one, it's best to stick with standard load .38 Special ammo.
The gun can handle +P ammo safely, but it will accelerate wear.

These Colt's were set up to shoot round nose lead 158 grain loads, but any modern standard load with lead or jacketed bullets will work great.
The gun was sighted for 158 grain bullets so lighter or heavier bullets may not shoot to center.

 

[DawnPatrol6]

I have a between the wars US M17A1 helmet with CAC and crossed cannons painted on it. I believe the letters on the helmet indicated Coast Artillery Corps. This would be pre-WW2. Just another possibility. If it is Coast Artillery, it would have added value to a militaria collector. As your grandfather was involved in Air Mail transport, it is more likely to be aviation related. It would be nice to see the rest of the gun.

 

[Mike Faires]

You might start here a list of defunct US flagged airlines, List of defunct airlines of the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia then eliminate any not around in the 30"s to narrow it down. You might also contact Social Security about your grandfathers employment history, just a thought.

 

[Kitrobaskin]

All very excellent posts. How gratifying it is to see such a quality forum. I took pictures with a high resolution camera and forgot to dial it down. Before ending the visit with my cousin, we tried to get a profile shot posted but were still fiddling with it. Hopefully he will succeed. If not, maybe he will consent to me posting a 2 minute video showing the Colt and another.22 revolver and 12 gauge shotgun. Not Colts, not rare as far as I can tell, but very nice to see. A link here should suffice. Thanks Again, All of You.

 

[Kitrobaskin]

Thanks Moderator for closing the initial, repetitive thread in Introductions.

 

[Kitrobaskin]

Post some images!

They are worth 'a thousand words'.

Sorry for taking so long to post this picture. I had to get back to a laptop at home, don't know how to do it on an iPad. It's a cool old gun, with little wear in the bore as far as I can tell. Holster wear near the barrel end, other wear marks. Action is quite tight. Trigger seems awfully good to me, compared to today's standard guns. I did not dry fire it. Thanks again to all who posted comments.

 

[jared2700]

Do you have any Photo of the Grandfather in uniform with it displayed? all the documentation you can get of were he was stationed and so forth will some time boost your price. Exspecially if some one is looking to replace oned stollen from their collection, or had someone in their family in the same org. It is possible to boost the price 10% to 30%, with good documentation. Good Luck God bless Jared