[Slimbo]

can anyone tell me when this particular gun was built? the serial is 196271, 38 special, black plastic grips. im interested in it, it has a little bit of wear on the muzzle, other than that the finish is 96? percent. the only other thing is the grips are chipped at the bottom rear of the grip, both sides are missing the same size chunk but the frame is fine. :confused: anyways, the asking price is 299. :) anyone?

[MMCSRET]

A Police Positive will not be 38 Special; the cylinder is too short to chamber the Special round. If it is a 38 Special, then it is a Police Positive Special. The PP was chambered for 38 New Police which is the same as 38 S&W, not "Special". Probably dates to 1929 if its a Police Positive 38.

[Slimbo]

right, it is a 38 special. from what i've found at proofhouse.com the serial dates it to 1920. can anyone back this up?

[SaxonPig]

Your Police Positive Special (it really is a different model from the Police Positive) was indeed manufactured in 1920.

[Old Fuff]

...the serial is 196271, 38 special, black plastic grips.

According to; COLT's - Dates of Manufacture, by R.L. Wilson, a Colt Police Positive Special, serial number 196,271 would have been made during 1920.

The stocks are not made of plastic as we know it, but black hard rubber or gutta percha. They have some value, and if possible they should be repaired. If not you can buy modern plastic replacements.

The asking price of $299 is on the high side of the market, but the value seems to be moving in that direction. At $300.00 I would expect perfect stocks, at least 95% of the original finish, clean and bright bore and chambers, and the timing to be correct.

[Slimbo]

awesome, thanks everyone. the muzzle wear puzzled me along with the grips but after browsing some pictures of others with the same grips, i found a few with the same problem. the muzzle wear still seems a little odd as the rest of the finish on the gun is excellent. i havent bought it yet but im considering picking it up. i bought my dad a later version of the same gun (wood grips) for his birthday this year and really like it. everything else checks out, timing, bore, chambers etc.

[Old Fuff]

Finish wear on the muzzle and sides of the barrel is usually caused by rubbing inside of an slightly oversized holster. The condition is not uncommon on older revolvers.

[Slimbo]

well i did it, i went and looked at it again today. the muzzle wear wasnt as bad as i remembered from saturday. it is on layaway until after xmas, cant wait to shoot it!

[windsor311]

I picked up an older Colt Police Possitive 38 Special in 4" , 6-shot, square butt, treanch style rear sight, fixed blade front with a serial of 1166xx.

Any help with when she was born?

[Guillermo]

1925

http://proofhouse.com

[windsor311]

I followed your link but how did you determine 1925 please? Did you look under the "Pocket Positive" list?

I see there are several choices for the Police Positive, and my number looks like it would only fall under either Police Positive Special", or "Police Positive .38"

How do I tell if its a Special or .38?

[Guillermo]

I erred and looked in the Pocket Positive list

your gun is 1929

[windsor311]

Guillermo, how did you come up with 1929 if you don't mind me asking? Looking at the tables for any of the Police Positives, I dont see my number in the 1929 range. I took a look at the link below and it appears I have a "Police Positive Special", (first issue).

I came up with this because the caliber on mine is .38 Special and not .38 S&W or any others listed for regular "Police Positive" (first issue).

I hope i'm on the right track so any hints you can give me as to why you say it's a 1929 gun would be appreciated.

https://store.bluebookinc.com/InstantAccess/Model.aspx?product=5&id=500

[Guillermo]

I looked under Colt Dbl actions and then Police Positive 38

[windsor311]

Would my number have to be 185000 or higher to be a 1929 gun? The numbers in the table are where the year started correct?

[Old Fuff]

The Police Positive .38 and Police Positive Special were nearly identical revolvers except the "Special" had a longer frame and cylinder, and was chambered in either .32-20 or .38 Special during the pre-war years. The Police Positive .38 was chambered in .38 S&W (also known as the Colt .38 New Police). Each of these .38 caliber revolvers was serial numbered in it's own series. There was also an earier .32 Police Positive, but I'm not going to get into that now.

So according to my records, a Police Positive Special in caliber .38 Special, with a serial number 116,6xx would have been manufactured in 1915, because it is within a range running from 110,000 to 124,999 which were made that year. The numbers may not be dead on, but they are close enough for government work.

Forget about the various versions of the Police Positive because in this case they don't matter. :banghead:

[windsor311]

Thanks Old Fuff. Much appreciated.