The biggest change with this issue would be the addition of the ejector rod housing to the bottom of the barrel. The Third Issue of Colt Detective Special Revolvers began in 1973, and is often quite easy to pick out when compared to the first two Issues. Third Issue Colt Detective Special (1973 - 1986)Ĭolt Third Issue Detective Special Revolver.
The Second Issue of Colt Detective Specials ended in 1972, but they are still widely available at almost any price point and condition level, browse our catalog and see for yourself. Other changes were made during this issue, including grooves on the hammer and trigger instead of checkering, a smooth cylinder latch instead of checkered, and an extended ejector rod.
During this Issue Colt began making some modifications to the sights, moving away from the “half-moon” front sight of the First Issue and to a new, wider, ramp type front sight. The Second Issue for Colt Detective Specials began in 1947 and would eventually end up the largest of the four issues. Second Issue Colt Detective Special (1947 - 1972) First issue revolvers are quite desirable and would do very well in any of our auctions if you would like to consign one with Rock Island Auction Company. Some collectors point to 1933 as the end of the First Issue when the little snub nose with a square butt switched over to a rounded butt. This is the date where many changes were made to the design, which we will discuss in the next section. The end date of this Issue is a bit contentious among Detective Special collectors, but for our purposes we will use the date of 1946, which is in line with the latest issues of the Blue Book of Gun Values. The start date of the First Issue of Colt Detective Specials is easy enough to pin down as it was 1927, when the revolver was first released. First Issue Colt Detective Special (1927 - 1946) For a deeper dive into the history of the Colt Detective Special check out our blog post covering it.Ĭolt First Issue Detective Special Revolver. This will give you a manufacture date that can be applied to the following Issues.
The easiest way of finding out what series of Detective Special you have is to search the serial number of your revolver (found on the frame, visible when the cylinder is open) through Colt’s website for free. When selling or buying the Detective Special it is important to be able to identify the four distinct “Issues” that collectors classify them in, much like the three generations of the Colt Single Action Army.
38 Special caliber that could be concealed by detectives, plain clothes police officers, or average citizens. When first released in 1927 ,the Colt Detective Special was intended for pretty much exactly what the name implies: a small frame double action revolver in the considerably powerful.