[WinstonWolfe]

I picked up this Pequeno 2" for $830 tonight. I have several 4", but this is my first snub. This gun appears to be all original with possible exception of the grips and made in 1941. I recall reading in the Gary Peer's book that there are only about a dozen known to exist in the U.S. Does that number still hold or have a lot more been discovered since then?

 

[SnidelyWhiplash]

I considered bidding on that revolver on GB...it got too rich for me, especially since I'm not very knowledgeable on Pequeno revolvers. It looks like a nice piece. I hope it's a genuine rarity for you.

 

[WinstonWolfe]

Thank you! This is only the second 2" I've seen for sale in the last few years. One I saw last year sold for over $3,000, and it was pitted. I stopped bidding on that one at about $3,000 mark. This one is well worth $5,000. This is one of my "bucket list" guns, so it will only get sold again when I am no longer on this Earth. I don't expect to find many/any more. Just curious if Gary Peer was correct in his assessment.

 

[DJC]

What makes this a "pequeno?"

 

[WinstonWolfe]

What makes this a "pequeno?"

A 1933-1941 serial number that matches a Pequeno, a 2" (rather than 2.5" barrel), B32 markings, hard rubber grips. This gun looks like it should have been made by Colt in the teens or twenties because it was made out of left over parts deemed not good enough for the U.S. market.

 

[saintclair]

Here are pictures of my 4" Pequeno. I also have a 2" one that I posted pictures of a couple years ago.
Those prices you quote seem very high, but I sure hope you are correct. I have Colt Archive letters on both of mine.

 

[saintclair]

I found pictures of my 2" Pequeno.

 

[WinstonWolfe]

There are very few of them trading, so sample size for prices is very small. The one I mentioned was sold last year by Lumberjack (Tom Kirkpatrick) for over $3,000 freckled and possibly pitted. I was bidding myself, but stopped mainly due to condition. I know Tom sold a better condition gun much earlier for around $4,000. The gun I got is really 98%+ and my understanding is it never made it further than a few miles from the Colt factory. This would explain the condition. The seller who is a pre-cartridge Colt collector got it on a trade with other guns and did not want it. I was fully prepared to go up to $5,000 on it, but because it was listed in "Other Collectable Firearms" and not in any of the main categories, spelling was "Pequano" rather than "Pequeno", it did not get much exposure and I was able to get it for $830.

 

[SnidelyWhiplash]

You must really be doing the Happy Dance! If the values are as you say...maybe you should be charged with (unintentional) felony theft!

 

[DJC]

Thank you. I learned something as I never heard of a pequeno before.

 

[twaits]

Nice score WinstonWolfe. Cam "thecoltguy" has a few of these. There is some good discussion on them here:

http://www.coltforum.com/forums/col...police-positive-s-lettered-pequeno-model.html

 

[twaits]

What makes this a "pequeno?"

From the book of Colt firearms:

The Pequeno Model was created by Colt as a means of merchandising the balance of parts from the discontinued 32 caliber Model B Police Positive. Catagorized within the factory as a "2nd Quality" weapon the name, Pequano, meant "The Little One" in Spanish. Most of the sales were to South and Central America, to Puerto Rico, and the Philippine Islands with quantities also within the US. Some specimens were shipped to Thailand (Siam)and sales were also made to the British Purchasing Commission at the early stages of World War II.

 

[smkummer]

I have a 4" 32 police positive on a 32 frame that is identical to these guns made in the teens. Sometime in the 20's, the 32 cartridge was chambered in the larger 38 police positive frame probably due to customer demand. For those that have never held one of these, they are really small. Think of it as a pocket positive with a larger grip frame, as that is what it is. I am guessing any 32 police positive made in the 30's or later would sell or trade as simply a 32 police positive without knowledge that it is a pequeno model.

 

[WinstonWolfe]

You must really be doing the Happy Dance! If the values are as you say...maybe you should be charged with (unintentional) felony theft!

I do a lot of great buys. People that know mw well say that I "wolfe" down those Colts. LOL Just for the record, I expected the gun to go a lot higher. I contacted the seller at the beginning of the auction and suggested doing a buy-now price. I was thinking $2,000. The seller didn't want to, mainly out of fair play considerations, and it turned out better for me.

By the way, I crossed the river today into PR Maryland and trying to relieve your state of a few Colts.

 

[WinstonWolfe]

I have a 4" 32 police positive on a 32 frame that is identical to these guns made in the teens. Sometime in the 20's, the 32 cartridge was chambered in the larger 38 police positive frame probably due to customer demand. For those that have never held one of these, they are really small. Think of it as a pocket positive with a larger grip frame, as that is what it is. I am guessing any 32 police positive made in the 30's or later would sell or trade as simply a 32 police positive without knowledge that it is a pequeno model.

Maybe some have slipped through, but it's really hard to miss them. It does look close to this much earlier Police Positive snub, but (a) Pequeno has a shorter barrel marked B32 and (b) Pequeno has a much later serial while looking like an earlier gun. I suppose that if you have both uneducated buyer and seller, it could be misidentified, but the number of these according to Peer is very small in the U.S.

 

[Hopalong]

Congratulations on a great find!

 

[WinstonWolfe]

Nice score WinstonWolfe. Cam "thecoltguy" has a few of these. There is some good discussion on them here:

http://www.coltforum.com/forums/col...police-positive-s-lettered-pequeno-model.html

This is actually interesting. I am aware of one gun like this in nickel. It letters as a Pequeno, but it's 2.5" and not B32 marked. It also wears mother of pearl medallion grips from the factory. Otherwise looks like a regular nickeled PP snub. I was thinking of acquiring it, but lack of Pequeno features gave me pause. It would be above $5,000, so I am not taking it lightly. I thought that Colt made an error back in the day by recording it as a Pequeno.

Cam, can you shed some light as to why these guns letter as Pequenos. Are they or are they not really Pequenos?

 

[SnidelyWhiplash]

I do a lot of great buys. People that know mw well say that I "wolfe" down those Colts. LOL Just for the record, I expected the gun to go a lot higher. I contacted the seller at the beginning of the auction and suggested doing a buy-now price. I was thinking $2,000. The seller didn't want to, mainly out of fair play considerations, and it turned out better for me.

By the way, I crossed the river today into PR Maryland and trying to relieve your state of a few Colts.

I hope you're successful. Maryland doesn't seem to be the best picking grounds for Colt handguns. The name suffered under the recently eliminated law requiring gun makers to provide a fired case to the State Police. We rarely saw new Colts in the state and used suffered as well. We're seeing more new Colts now but good used and collectible aren't that common...at least the gun stores and gun shows I go to.

 

[WinstonWolfe]

I hope you're successful. Maryland doesn't seem to be the best picking grounds for Colt handguns. The name suffered under the recently eliminated law requiring gun makers to provide a fired case to the State Police. We rarely saw new Colts in the state and used suffered as well. We're seeing more new Colts now but good used and collectible aren't that common...at least the gun stores and gun shows I go to.

I have a few connections in Montgomery County where all the money is. My "business model" is to help liberal kids get their deceased parents' Colts (and sometimes other guns) out of their houses. They want them gone. I get them cheap. It's win-win. I get referrals. And transferring FFLs make a few bucks too.

 

[thecoltguy]

I had that one on my watch list but already have two so decided to pass. Here is one of them: