Help, please

G

gburner

New member
Today, my brother in law showed me a Colt revolver that looked very old. It has a blued frame and cylinder, sight groove over the topstrap, a blade foresight, 6 in. barrel in .38. The writing on the left side of the bbl. reads .38 POLICE POSITIVE. The frame is very narrow and slight and the handle is tiny and slim. It has black bakelite grips that are molded and read COLT.

Any guesses on type, age, value, etc. Thanks!

BTW.....The bluing is about 80%.
 
That sounds like the First Issue Police Positive. They were made in .32 Colt, .32 New Police, and .38 Colt New Police (same as .38 S&W, but Colt would not call it that). Hard rubber grips (not Bakelite) were standard through 1923. Serial number should be below about 153,000. The Police Positive (so-called from the "positive" safety that allowed them to be carried safely with a round under the hammer) was less popular for most police use than the Police Positive Special which was made in .38 Colt Special (which was the same as .38 S&W Special), but it was used by many police departments which thought the super powerful .38 Special was overkill.

Those guns are well made, though odd looking to the modern eye, but there were so many made that the value is not high. In addition, there has been only a mild collector interest in double action Colts of that era. One in about 80% would probably bring (retail) around $250-280. Even at 100%, they bring less than $500.

Jim
 
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