Army Special number 481062 was made in 1922.
The numbers that year ran from 466000 to 485999.
In 1889 Colt Firearms invented the modern double action, swing-out cylinder revolver and sold it as the Colt New Army and Navy Model.
From 1889 to 1903 Colt refined the design with a rapid series of models, each refining and enhancing the design.
In 1908, Colt introduced the perfected design as the Colt Army Special.
The serial numbers picked up where the New Army and Navy left off at number 291000.
The Army Special was available with barrels of 4", 4 1/2", 5" and 6".
Finishes were bright blue or nickel, and in calibers of .32-20, various .38 caliber loadings including the .38 Special, and in .41 Colt.
The Army Special was an immediate hit, especially with police departments, but the US Army never bought the design so the "Army Special" name was hopeful marketing.
Since the police were the main buyers, in 1927 Colt renamed the Army Special as the Colt Official Police, and made the gun from 1927 until it was discontinued in 1969.
The Army Special was the basis for virtually every medium frame double action revolver Colt made up until 1969.
Among the guns that used the Army Special frame and action were:
The Official Police.
The various versions of the Officer's Model target revolvers.
The Colt 357.
The Trooper.
The Python.
Colt changed the design so little over the years, that many parts from a 1908 Army Special will still interchange with a 2003 Colt Python.
The design was a huge success for Colt, and as the Official Police, the gun became just that, THE "official" police revolver for most departments from the 1920's up through the early 1960's.
