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Colt 32 cal Police Positive ctg value

17K views 12 replies 5 participants last post by  Tom Frederick 
#1 ·
This gun was my Grandfather's serial # 119xxx. I received this and his 38 Special which was his service revolver. The colt appears to be in very good condition with little wear and some light scratching. Any thoughts on the approximate value and what ammunition does it take?
From what I gathered from the serial #, it was made in 1914
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#2 · (Edited)
Tom Frederick, your Police Positive probably takes 32 Smith & Wesson Long, which at one time was also known as 32 Colt New Police, mainly because Colt did not want to put S&W's name on a Colt revolver. See how the barrel is marked. (Also, see my PPS below. If your gun is a Police Positive Special, there is some chance it is chambered for .32-20 WCF [Winchester Center Fire], which is a whole different ball game.)

Older Colt revolvers used 32 Long Colt, which is long out of production and hard to find. To me, the hard rubber grips combined with the shape of the cylinder release suggest your gun was made in the 1920's, and that is too late for it to be 32 Long Colt, fortunately.

As for value, it all depends on whether the bluing on your gun is the original factory finish. If it is, you have a fairly valuable gun there, because it seems to be in very good shape. A close up of any stamped markings, like the caliber on the barrel or the Colt trademark on the frame, would help people here tell whether the finish is original or not.

I can't give you a dollar figure myself, because I am not familiar enough with current values. And all the rest of the above is just my $.02 as well, of course.

PS - If your gun is 32 S&W Long / 32 Colt New Police, then 32 Smith & Wesson (the short version of the Long cartridge) will also fit and fire safely, but it is extremely low-powered, so there is little point to it, IMO.

Also, thanks for putting up good pictures! It's a handsome gun, and a pleasure to see.

PPS - I almost forgot. There are really 3 different types of Colt Police Positive: the Police Positive 32, the Police Positive 38, and the Police Positive Special. Confusingly, both the 38 and the Special were made in 32 S&W Long, and the Special was also made in a non-interchangeable caliber called .32-20 Winchester Center Fire. What are the barrel model and caliber stampings?

If you get the model nailed down, you can try to look up the year of manufacture at this website:

http://proofhouse.com/colt/

Sorry to have made things confusing!
 
#5 ·
Wow! Thanks for the additional pictures, Tom Frederick. Your guns looks original to me. The bluing on the real sideplate screw, in particular, was a Colt practice. Screws like that were not blued as such; it was a process involving heat and charcoal called fire bluing. Collectors like to see that.

I think your gun is a Police Positive 32. From the caliber marking, it is 32 Colt New Police, which is just another name for 32 Smith & Wesson Long. Yes, you can use 32 Smith & Wesson in it; that is the low-powered cartridge I mentioned above.

Your gun is an excellent example of this model, and may be older than I thought, judging from the fire-blued screws. It should be worth a pretty penny if sold at a big gun show or over the Internet. Once again, I just don't know enough about current values to name a figure. I would not be surprised to see someone asking over $500 for it, but what they would actually get, I have no idea. If you register at some gun auction websites (it's free, at least at the big ones) you can look up completed auctions and try to find guns like yours.

It's very nice as is. Don't do anything to it but oil it. Be careful if you take the grips off; they are hard rubber, which was standard on Colts at the time, and it gets brittle with age.

The little triangle mark at the front left end of the trigger guard is Colt's "Verified Proof" mark, BTW.

I wonder if your grandfather bought this gun for your grandmother?
 
#8 ·
I don't think it would have been my grandmother:) My grandfather was a policeman who rode motorcycle early in his career in upstate NY. I now have his last service revolver a S&W 38 that is also in excellent condition with little holster wear. That gun was made in 1965 and from what I have read is not collectable per say due to the millions made, but is a cherished family heirloom.
 
#6 ·
I really don't know anything about it but I do agree with Lan, I believe it is all original. Beautiful old Colt, thank you for sharing the pictures.
 
#7 ·
I found these as potential years of manufacture from Colt website when I enter the serial number
1915 POLICE POSITIVE SPECIAL & DETECTIVE SPECIAL
1914 POLICE POSITIVE .32 & POLICE POSITIVE TARGET
I am thinking it might be worth the $75 to get the information from Colt to be sure.
 
#9 ·
A very nice all original gun! The colt sight is saying 1914. The small caliber guns are not worth as much as a 38 special would be due to the higher cost of ammunition and it's lack of serious power. I would think this gun should be in the 500 dollar range but it is not a strong performer. At auction it could go between 400 to 600 just depending on who is there that week and how much they want it.
 
#13 ·
I don't plan on loading it with 32 ACP, I will stick with the 32 S&W Long regular 32 S&W. The only ammo I could find yesterday was the reg 32 S&W lead round nose. I have cleaned and oiled the gun and wondering what additional steps I should take for long term storage of this gun and the S&W 38 which is also blued. I don't have any experience with blued guns.
 
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