Colt revolver

[Fat Boy]

A recently acquired Colt Revolver has a "stamp" (for lack of a better term) just above and towards the rear of the trigger guard area on the left side of the frame. It looks a bit like an upside down "U" but these old eyes can't be sure

A friend said this indicates the gun has been worked on by Colt's custom shop. Does this sound accurate or is it an Internet tale?

If there could be some accuracy, could someone post a picture of a gun with this marking that is confirmed to have been in the custom shop at Colt? The marking I mean.

Thank you

 

[Old Fuff]

Before answering your question it's necessary to know what particular model it is, and the serial number (use XX or the last two digits if you wish). Then the approximate date it was made can be determined, and this could be important.

I will speculate (meaning I may be right, but could easily be wrong) that what you are looking at is an inspectors stamp. After an inspection was performed for whatever reason, the person who did it would stamp his personal "mark" to show that the inspection was satisfactory, and who did it.

If so, it has nothing to do with Colt's current Custom Shop.

 

[Dframe]

VP in a triangle? Might be Colts verified proof mark

 

[Fat Boy]

B445xx.
I didn't do this very well- I already posted a question about this revolver. It is marked "agent" on the barrel but has a steel frame.Other than the agent roll Mark it looks like a detective special Polished blue. Syntbetic grips
thanks again for all your help

 

[Old Fuff]

It's highly unlikely that Colt's Custom Shop would produce or send out a revolver with a steel frame and a barrel marked, "Agent."

A steel/D-frame with the serial number you posted should have been made during 1971. If so it would have had a "Pencil" barrel marked Detective Special," and exposed ejector rod.

The heavier/semi-ribbed barrel with a full ejector rod shroud wasn't introduced until 1973.

I'll stick with my first thought that it's a inspector's mark you're looking at.

 

[Fat Boy]

Thank you - I like this revolver and am interested in its history. I am not, at least presently, interested enough to spend the money on lettering the gun. On the other hand, if I wanted to obtain a letter from Colt would it still be available with the bankruptcy underway?

 

[Monac]

FatBoy, if you would put up some pictures of the gun here, people here might be able to tell you a lot about it. (I apologize if I missed a post where you explained why that was not practical for you.) A factory letter can tell you things people here cannot, of course, but putting up pictures here first would be a lot cheaper.

 

[Old Fuff]

I wanted to obtain a letter from Colt would it still be available with the bankruptcy underway?

I would think so because they are still making firearms. No one wants to stop them from making money, any argument is over who will get it.

That said, all a letter will do is state the model, caliber (.38 Special) finish (blue), kind of stocks (if they were non-standard), to what distributor or dealer it was sent to, how many guns were in the shipment (if recorded), and the date the shipment was made.

The style of barrel probably wasn't recorded. All of this information comes from shipping records. The originals are in the CT. State Library in Hartford, but the company is supposed to have a computerized copy.

 

[Jim K]

Colt's VP proof is always on the front left side of the trigger guard.

Jim

 

[Jim Watson]

Unless it is a real Fitz Special in which case the VP is on the left rear of the trigger guard because the left front is gone.

(I hate to see a revolver mutilated like that... especially a S&W. A real factory Fitz is valuable, the rest are just ruined.)

 

[highpower]

All the verbal descriptions in the world aren't worth as much as one (1) clear picture. If you really want an opinion of what the mark may mean, you will have to find a way to post it.

I have a 1909 New Service that has a stamp in the area that you mention. I enlarged the area and this is the best I could do without taking another photo.

Does it look something like this?


This is the same area on my 64 Python. I have tweeked the contrast a bit to try and make it clearer, but it is still hard to see.


Last is the same spot on my 68 Trooper.


BTW, I have no idea of what the stamps are except for maybe an inspectors mark.

 

[Old Fuff]

BTW, I have no idea of what the stamps are except for maybe an inspectors mark.

That's exactly what they are, and the practice goes back well before the Civil War. Some are obvious, while others are semi-hidden.

And if you're looking at a handgun that was part of a military contract you'll find additional stamps left by in-house government inspectors.

Remove the stocks and look at each side of the handle part of the frame and they're is often a bunch.

They are there to insure that important operations during production were done, and done right.

These days they are usually fewer, as inspections are the same. Modern technologies it's claimed, have made this degree of inspecting unnecessary.

 

[dfariswheel]

The stamp on the left rear of a Colt revolver is the factory assemblers stamp.
On the left front is a "VP" in a triangle, which is Colt's Verified Proof stamp.

On the frame, just below the barrel where the crane seats is the serial number.
Below it is a letter stamp that's the final inspectors mark.
For unknown reasons there may on occasion be more then one stamp below the serial number.
These are most often seen on 1980's Pythons.

Letter stamps above the serial number are sometimes seen on Pre-war Colt revolvers.
These usually have a special meaning.
As example, a "T" stamp indicated the revolver was "targeted" at the factory.