I'm still proud to own the revolver, it's beautiful and commemorates the Highway Patrol of my home state. I suppose I was expecting to see on the letter the things I've found out on my own, just for corroboration if nothing else, such as this being the first Model 29 to be used as a commemorative, and the only commemorative to have the markings acid-etched (others are either roll stamped or laser engraved).

I did find a discrepancy about the numbers made in the Standard catalog. In several posts on the forum, I heard numbers from 1189 to 1200 made, and the Catalog, 4th edition, on page 235 states "approx. 300 manufactured". My letter states that 1080 were ordered and delivered in July of 1979; I can say definitively that the number is at least 835, as 0835 is the number stamped on the frame of the one I own.

I do have some hopes of learning more about these guns; I've been in contact with the current armorer for the NCHP, who has said he would see what he could learn about the disposition of these guns after they were delivered, which the Historical Foundation doesn't have, and I didn't expect them to.

What makes these commemorative special in my eyes is that the initial purchaser had to be a current Trooper or a retiree, and weren't available to the general public, at least until the original owner sold theirs. Since this series was offered in 1979, I can imagine the ones coming on the market are from families of the original owners or their estates.