"B.S.D. & Tr. Co.15" On a Colt Police Positive
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Absalom
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
DWalt
Member
I would also think some railroad. There were and are many short-line railroads serving regional areas, and the letters were usually initials of cities or locations they served (CSD&R might be something like Cleveland, Sandusky, Detroit and Rochester) . Many were/are industrial freight haulers. There may be a website which lists past and present short-line railroads.
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Ivan the Butcher
Member
I think the "Tr Co." is for Trust Company, and the "15" is an inventory or rack number. Many banks had armed guards and curriers after the "Roaring 20's"
Ivan
Ivan
OP
Someone had once suggested Boston Savings Depositor & Trust Co. but how many cities in the USA begin with a "B". Perhaps this calls for one of those big dollar Colt letters.
OP
Stamping corrected, photo added at OP 1.
OP
Don't snitch on me that I own a few Cxxxs. I'd like to see one Smith Collector that does not have a few Colts ! LOL
it can be yours ! I am not emotionally attached to it.
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DWalt
Member
The way your picture shows it, the Tr Co could well be B.S.D. & Trust Company. Finding the B.S.D. part could be a chore, as very few (if any) financial institutions of that period contemporary with the gun still exist under their original name. A Colt letter (pricey) might (or, more likely, might not) help identify it. Lots of cities begin with B.
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Ivan the Butcher
Member
I know people collect and/or pay extra for Law Enforcement guns, Are the collectors of "Bank Guns"? (Not counting Wells Fargo & American Express!)
Ivan
Ivan
Absalom
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
Thanks, right now I just collect PICTURES of butt stamps
A factory letter might be productive, especially given the gun's nice condition. There is the possibility that the stamping is factory-applied. Colt did that much more frequently than S&W.
Look at the comparison I snipped together. Unfortunately, only the digit 1 is common to both. The "No. 11" is factory-lettered on a 1951 Official Police. Font, size, and strike pattern are very similar. Of course, these die sets were probably quite common.
Attachments
Consider:
Boston Safe Deposit & Trust Co.
Boston Safe Deposit & Trust Co.
I believe it's for Boston Safe Deposit & Trust Co.
added..**** I type too Sloooow!,,, JH1951 beat me to it !! ****
The name as that has been used a number of times and there still is a small bank with that name but fairly new to the scene.
I think the one on the OP's revolver was probably more likely the West Coast based bank used by the railroads from the very late 1800's to just before WW2.
Here;s one link to a BSD&Tr in Ca early on.
#1214 - Boston Safe Deposit & Trust Co and California Southern RR Co - State Archives - Kansas Historical Society
Another one I found in a 1883 yearly report for the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe R/R lists an entry ...
"Totals
Less Boston Safe Deposit & Trust,. deposited with them as Colateral,...."
That site won't let me cut and paste. It has a few references to the Bank in the report in it.,,if you really want to read through it!
Annual Report of the Board of Directors of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa ... - Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad Company. Board of Directors - Google Books
Well that's my guess aanyway.
FWIW,,the marking looks like a Colt factory roll mark,,not an individually handstamped mark.
Colt would make up a die to do a number of guns on order for an organization if you wanted to pay the extra.
The 'weapon' or rack number was sometimes added aftermarket. Sometimes it was Colt impressed with the same die, the die being made with a replaceable character or characters insert so as to be able to change the #.
It was a common thing on roll dies to be able to mark the same bbl address on rifle bbls for example and be able to change the caliber marking insert.
added..**** I type too Sloooow!,,, JH1951 beat me to it !! ****
The name as that has been used a number of times and there still is a small bank with that name but fairly new to the scene.
I think the one on the OP's revolver was probably more likely the West Coast based bank used by the railroads from the very late 1800's to just before WW2.
Here;s one link to a BSD&Tr in Ca early on.
#1214 - Boston Safe Deposit & Trust Co and California Southern RR Co - State Archives - Kansas Historical Society
Another one I found in a 1883 yearly report for the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe R/R lists an entry ...
"Totals
Less Boston Safe Deposit & Trust,. deposited with them as Colateral,...."
That site won't let me cut and paste. It has a few references to the Bank in the report in it.,,if you really want to read through it!
Annual Report of the Board of Directors of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa ... - Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad Company. Board of Directors - Google Books
Well that's my guess aanyway.
FWIW,,the marking looks like a Colt factory roll mark,,not an individually handstamped mark.
Colt would make up a die to do a number of guns on order for an organization if you wanted to pay the extra.
The 'weapon' or rack number was sometimes added aftermarket. Sometimes it was Colt impressed with the same die, the die being made with a replaceable character or characters insert so as to be able to change the #.
It was a common thing on roll dies to be able to mark the same bbl address on rifle bbls for example and be able to change the caliber marking insert.
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Very cool stamping. Thanks for sharing!
ParadiseRoad
Member
OP
Including the dots or periods, they both have exactly 15 stamped characters.
Skeetr57
Member
The original post doesn't properly identify the revolver. It could be a Police Positive if in .38 New Police
OP
Tom,
I added the caliber for you although the subject question asked for assistance identifying the stamping on the butt. I had no questions on the model or caliber.
I believed if SPECIAL was not added to the title on this type Colt, it would be known that a .38 Police Positive = .38 New Police Caliber. IIRC same or near same at .38 S&W.
I do also have 38 Police Positive SPECIAL that is a .38 Special (and another SPECIAL that is a .32-20 W.C.F.)
Like in S&W, .38 without the "SPECIAL" it's just a .38 S&W, or so I thought.
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