Based on my reading dd884 has it right. "Special" was the terminology for a round that could be purchased as a black powder round, or as a smokeless powder round and could be reloaded either way also. This included the .32 Winchester Special, the S&W .38 Special and the S&W .44 Special. Blackpowder rounds for the .38 Special were first loaded by Union Metallic (UMC) in May of 1899 with the smokeless loads following in September, as I recall (U.S. Cartridges and Their Handguns, Charles Suydam 1977).