I stumbled across this yesterday for what I thought was a good price. It is supposed to be a Colt Horse Pistol Special edition. It is chambered in 45 Colt and has a 7.5' barrel. The only differences I can find between it and a standard 3rd gen SAA is that it has a gold Colt emblem on top of the grip strap and also has an unfluted cylinder. I did not get a display box or anything else with it. I'm hoping it will make a good shooter. What do you know about these?

About all I know is I sure like the looks of it.

Me too. I'm not sure how the turn lines fore and aft on the cylinder got there. Everything else looks good. Any idea what it's worth?

Not really. I don't recall seeing one like that but someone should be along with more knowledge than me.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but that ain't no horse pistol. What we have here is a belt pistol.

Colt produced any number of commemorative SAA issues from the 1970's onward. Some have been successful because of connections with places, historical figures, or events, but as a general rule the commemoratives are less desired by collectors than the more standard production pieces. Market values of many of the commemoratives are lower than general production SAAs.

I'm sure there are some collectors who focus on the commemoratives and special editions, but they are far less numerous than those whose interests are more in the many variations of production guns.

Some of the special issue SAAs will have serial numbers within a range assigned just for that production run, which might help identify exactly which variant you have. Some may be numbered within the usual SAA serial numbering sequence.

The first step will be identifying exactly which of the many special issue guns you have (there have been many, perhaps over a hundred different offerings). Then you can determine the production numbers and possibly identify specific groups to whom yours may be of interest. Google searches of the auction houses and websites may provide some comparables to help establish a range of value.

Lack of the original packaging and paperwork is likely to diminish demand and potential market value. Probably not what you want to hear, but you may find that buyers are not willing to pay as much for the commemoratives as they will for a good standard example.

Assuming no significant collector demand for a specific commemorative, there is no reason why it should not be a good shooter piece.

I always thought the "horse pistol" was the Colt Walker.

The wood on this one in the OP sure is nice. Three turn lines; is this a normal thing on the Colts?
Also, horse pistol vs. belt pistol: is this a real "thing," so to speak, or just a special edition term?
The gun looks pretty much brand new, so why would Mr. or Mrs. Previous throw away the original box, etc.?
I'm quietly paying a little bit more attention lately to the Colts, perhaps with the intent on thinking, "Hey, now there's a Colt I wouldn't mind having as my first Colt."

These came in 45Colt and 44-40.
They were made as a Special Edition for Lew Horton (or at least that's where they were retailed through). I don't know how many were made up in the Special run.
The pistols came w/ Ivory grips and in an oak case . Some with oak framed glass lid I think, Some with a solid oak lid.
I think you got a certificate with the gun for a free Colt 'letter' I's assume it was for that particular gun.
The Colt Custom Shop was the source of the guns at the time (early 80's). Nutmeg Sports supplied the ivory grips at the time IIRC.

For what's it's worth, one day I was in a gun shop over in Gettysburg and near the door was a bin full of gun company branded pistol boxes. A bunch of handgun purchasers literally tossed the orginal box on their way out the door. So I made a deal with the shop and bought the whole bin full of boxes. My brother and I were getting a table at a gun show so I took all of the boxes I bought to the show and I ended up making a couple bucks on them. I'm sure the fellow who bought the box for an out of production Firestar pistol was very happy to get it.

I think you've got a great shooter SAA.

As previously stated, Commemorative models don't always rocket skyward pricewise...but they often ROCK as less expensive shooters than standard models.

Congratulations on your acquisition and thanks for sharing it.

I have anecdotal evidence of this for what it's worth. I believe this was told to me by the member of the Inner Circle of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club who was ramrodding the project. Back in 1996-97 when the Smith & Wesson Custom Shop was making the Model 629 Punxsutawney Groundhog Commemorative revolvers (there is a such a thing, I have one), the Custom Shop disassembled the guns in order to do the engraving. Supposedly after the engraving the guns were reassembled and the Custom Shop tried to carefully fit the components parts when putting together each complete revolver. Some of the purchasers took their revolvers out and fired them and apparently they shot quite accurately.