Colt Banker's Special

[landmark54]

I inherited a Colt revolver from my uncle.

It has "38 Banker's Special" engraved/stamped on the left side of the barrel (which is two inches long).

When I swing out the cylinder, it has a number (#335709) stamped/engraved on the inside of the frame with a mirror image on the arm that swings out.

It has a wooden handle with crosscut hatching and a flat, even butt. On the metal, curved part of the handle it is engraved "R.M.S. P.O. DEPT." and on the bottom of the metal part of the handle it is engraved "No. 4763"

Additionally, in front of the trigger guard, it has stamped/engraved in very small letters (small enough that I needed a magnifying glass), formed in something that looks like an oval, the letters "GWA"

I have no idea of its value, nor when/where it was produced.

If anyone can provide that info, I'd be awfully grateful.

Thanks!

 

[jfh]

If you haven't seen it,

You can read up on your revolver here:

http://www.littlegun.be/arme%20americaine/colt/a%20colt%20banker%20s%20special%20gb.htm

Jim H.

 

[dfariswheel]

335709 was made in 1930.
The numbers that year ran from 329000 to 341999.

The Banker's Special was made from 1928 to 1940 by Colt Firearms in Hartford, Connecticut.
It was chambered for the .22 LR and for the the .38 Colt New Police or the.38 S&W, NOT the .38 Special.

Value depends entirely on actual condition.
One in about 90% condition would be worth "about" $600 to $700.

 

[landmark54]

Thanks to you both for the information. I really appreciate it!

 

[Maia007]

My father, when a young man in the early 1950's, worked for the US Post Office's working on mail cars on passenger trains. At that time, mail cars carried cash and even gold in addition to ordinary mail. The mail cars that he worked usually had two guys, both armed with Colt Banker's Specials issued by the USPO. I'm pretty they also had shotguns, but I don't remember anything about those, since he didn't bring those home off duty.

The cars were locked from the inside and were greeted by railroad detectives or other armed personnel when they pulled into towns to take on mail. When I was around 8-9 years old, he snuck me aboard and I got to take a cross country trip with him. Even then there were "security" concerns. I had to hide in the corner under some mail sacks when they pulled into towns and opened up. It was winter and the cars were unheated. After the mail was sorted into various sacks and in the slack-time before the next stop, out came a little whiskey and the Playboys. My dad's bud let me taste it. And they even let me sort some of the mail while they were otherwise occupied.

RMS may mean something like Railroad (Railway) Mail Service.

 

[psyopspec]

Maia007, thanks for sharing. I'd hate to see little vignettes like that get lost to history, and they're interesting as heck to read.

 

[SwampWolf]

Imagine bankers carrying revolvers today...

I wonder what the impact armed tellers might have on the huge number of bank robberies we are experiencing as a society in modern times?

 

[dakotasin]

Imagine bankers carrying revolvers today...

i'm a banker, and i carry a smith j-frame w/ me to work everyday...

 

[bayouboy]

landmark54:
I'm curious about the marking on the trigger guard of your gun. Is this it:

Mine is also a 38 Bankers Special serial no. 359XXX which dates to 1932. It contains no other marks except the factory Colt markings. I have done a lot of asking about the marking on the trigger guard, including the ladies in Colt Archives, and the best guess seems to be that it is some type of inspector stamp, government or otherwise.

 

[Old Fuff]

Way out in left field, but it could have been made by a large dealer or distributor. Another possibility is that it was a personal stamp, made by a former owner.

I checked list of U.S. Government inspectors. Several start out "GW?'" but none fit into the correct time period.

 

[bayouboy]

O.F.:
As I said, your guess is as good as any I've heard. I note that Wilson, in TBOCF, does list two military inspectors of the time period as GAW and GLW if we take the W as the last letter (typically this is done with monograms). What I find intriguing is that the original poster described a stamp on his Bankers which sounded identical to the one I showed. Just one of those old gun mysteries.

 

[Old Fuff]

You are right when it comes to mnograms, but government inspector's stamps were always in order of first,middle and last name. Keep looking and something will turn sooner or later...