Howdy, I have a police positive 3rd or 4th generation, checkered Walnut grips with a Smith & Wesson logo. Beautiful condition, probably 90%. Any ideas on value.

A Police Positive is a Colt.
If we are to guess a dollar value, we need to know what you really have.
Pictures or/and the checklist sticky.

Do you have instead a Regulation Police?

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}-----Jim----->
~SWCA #2732~

The most common S&W used by police was the Military & Police K Frame which eventually was named the Model 10 in 1957. There were quite a few variations over the years but the basic K Frame 38 Special fixed sight revolver was probably used by 3/4 of the police departments in the U.S. or more. If it is a S&W this is probably what you have, photo's and more specific information including the S/N would be needed to more specifically identify.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Read this-
Sticky: To IDENTIFY your Gun >

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Lee Jarrett

Sorry, don't know what I was thinking. It is a Colt police positive, not Smith & Wesson. Again, I believe it's 3rd or 4th generation with the checkered Walnut Grill in the Colt logo. It's pretty darn good shape.
I'm new to the Forum and I think I figured out how to attach some pictures, here you go.
Dan

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Very nice looking gun -- even though it's brand X.

Seriously, I don't think anyone here will object to a picture of a nice condition Colt.

I bought a Colt police positive 32 sw for $300. Your gun looks pretty good condition where mine was well worn finish wise but good shooting condition. I did get taken because I didn't notice the barrel was ringed till it was to late to return it. Sorry internet dealer IMO.
I refinished the gun and it came out looking like a somewhat faded blue finish. Actually makes the gun look to be its age. I believe it was made around 1957.
I have seen these guns in very poor condition in pawn shops for over $500. It isn't like these guns are rare and $500+ IMO is way to high.

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Sorry, I can't see the markings, is it a PP Special (in 38 Special). If so, it's worth at least $450.

Thanks for the input. I appreciate the other picture. Got this one from an old gun Guru friend of mine, one of the real timers. You guys have a good one.

You would probably get a more accurate idea of what you have if you go over to the Colt forum. There are more people over there probably eager to go into more details about what you have here. It looks in very good condition, however this is probably not one of the most sought after Colts, so I would guess something in the $400-$800 range, depending on what caliber it is and maybe it's actual vintage. I would say enjoy the gun if you plan on keeping it, or you should easily find someone who will be very appreciative of owning it. It's a fine gun and a good example of the model.

The "generations" are something collectors made up, and there's no standard for that term. Some people will place that gun in a "generation" and some one else would place it in a different "generation". Because Colt doesn't use a designation for variations like S&W (e.g. 686-2, the -2 being the type of variation), it's much harder to nail anything down on them without first starting with the year of production.

Colt production year is easy to look up on the net though. They're broken down by serial number to the year. They made something like three quarters of a million of these guns, so you can imagine there's alot of variations over the years. Some visual, some internal.

The "Police Positive Special" is the correct name, but most people (including me) usually just shorten it to "Police Positive". There was an earlier "Police Positive" that had a shorter frame and cylinder that was too short for .38 Special. Colt made the frame and cylinder longer and chambered it in the newer .38 Special cartridge, and named it "Police Positive Special" to differentiate it from the earlier gun. They were first offered in 1908.

Your Colt is relatively early, judging from the half-moon front sight and squared off corners on the grip frame. "relative" is a "relative term", since they made the gun non-stop from 1908 to the late 70's, and then brought it back a few years later. It could be really old, or not. You just need to look it up.

Later guns had ramp front sights, rounded corners on the grip frame, then a shorter grip frame with grip panels that filled in where the longer frame was, then a ejector rod shroud, and so on.

I would not shoot +P out of it. Colt says not to shoot +P out of any of these unless it's a late one with a shrouded ejector, and even then you have to have it inspected after so many rounds for frame stretch and cracks. Stick to regular pressure rounds and you'll be fine.

You can look up the serial number on the gun here:

http://www.colt.com/Customer-Service...-Number-Lookup

Or here:

Serial Number Data

This is one of the last ones Colt made in 1968 before the Smith Model 10 ran them out of the market. It's the Official Police. The second picture is the classic Police Positive from 1914 with a bore that is virtually mint. The little Police Positive is very difficult to find in nice condition. Well over 90% of the ones you will find are all beat up with rusted bores. For me, the first one is too big for what it is while the Police Positive is just perfect. You will have to settle for the 38 S&W which is sort of like a 38 short (in opposition to the 38 Special), but I like that round.

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	Collt Police Positive 1914.jpg (116.6 KB, 17 views)

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