I made my weekly trip to Ali Babba's den of thieves, and sure enough they had something to show me. I admit that usually it's a Smith & Wesson, but today it had a pony on the side.

A Colt Official Police, 38 Special, 4" barrel, service stocks, a little blue wear at the muzzle, and a checkered trigger. Nice touch. The S/N is 6300XX, which if proofhouse is to be believed, and I have no reason to think it's wrong, indicates it was made in 1939.





And on the backstrap, it's marked TREASURY DEPARTMENT SECRET SERVICE. Which I think is pretty neat. A poor picture I know.

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John 3:16 .

Nice Colt...I would have had to have it too....

Very cool!! Nice catch. If only these old guns could talk!

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Don't kiss smiling dogs!

Yep. Me too. That's a nice'un, C-Bass.

I think I carried one of about this vintage as a Pinkerton Security Guard in the early 70s. They made us carry an empty chamber under the hammer. I never fired it. We passed it on to the next guy when our shift ended.

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Georgia On My Mind

Nice grab there! I picked up a 1944 vintage OP last year, it's a nice shooter.

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Stay safe people!

Nice Colt OP. I would have bought the backstrap inscription, and the gun would have come along with the purchase. Excellent acquisition. Congratulations.

For those who are not comfortable doing rough Colt dating at a glance, here is one of the tips: the "sideways 8" screw-and-clamp crane stop on the right side of the gun points to 1948 and before. If you have only a single screw there, you are after 1948.

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David Wilson

Mine isn't as old as yours and it doesn't have a groovy back story, but it was Dad's and now it is mine:

A Colt official Police of that era is like an S&W M&P of that era. A real classic, just holding in your hand takes you back there.

Thanks for filling us in on that tip - I was not aware and learned something (again) today. I love this forum!

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Don't tread on me

I find it interesting that that gun does not look all that different from the new model 67 .38 sppecial 4" barrel I bought this week. I know there are many changes, but at first glance very similar. Anyhow, great find and a cool gun. Bud

Absolutely nice Colt O.P. Your date of 1939 is probably correct. I have #6329xx which is supposed to have been manufactured in 1939. On the other hand, my Colt factory letter says it was shipped in August 1941. It must have sat in inventory for a while. Consider viewing/joining the Colt forum at coltcollectors.com. They know Colts and that roll mark on the backstrap would peak their interest for sure.