Source: ATF P 5300.11 · Curios or Relics List · Jan 1972 – Apr 20253,573 entries · 4 sections
The C&R RegisterA finding aid to the ATF Curios or Relics List, for Type 03 collectors
C&R · II · 109

Colt Detective Special, Lindbergh revolver

Section II: curio or relic, still subject to the Gun Control Act

Official wording

ATF P 5300.11 · APRIL 2025 EDITION · SECTION II · VERBATIM · PDF P. 5 ↗

Colt, Detective Special revolver, cal. .38, S/N 418162, owned by Colonel Charles A. Lindbergh.

What this entry requires

  • ATF REQUIRESYour serial number is one ATF listsATF: “S/N 418162, owned by Colonel Charles A. Lindbergh”
  • INFOATF states no date; production was about 1933.

Editorial facts · Our research

Country
United States⁴
Manufacturer
Colt's Patent Fire Arms Mfg. Co.
Type
Pistol
Action
Other³
Caliber
.38
Made
Listed serial only · c. 1933production; ATF states no date¹
Service
Commercial
Search listings ↗Check a specific gunReport an error ↗

Source

Official wording
ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section II · PDF p. 5 ↗ · ATF original ↗
Entries
1 line
Verbatim check
Checked against the PDF text before every release
Editorial facts
Confidence: High · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
References
  1. proofhouse.com ↗, years: Proofhouse serial table "Police Positive Special & Detective Special" (shared series): 1933 begins at 412000, 1934 at 423000, so S/N 418162 is a 1933 gun
  2. Wikipedia, “Colt Detective Special” ↗, years (estimate: range of the base model): infobox First Series 1927–1946 (consistent with 1933)
  3. Wikipedia, “Colt Detective Special” ↗, action
  4. Wikipedia, “Colt's Manufacturing Company” ↗, country: American firearms manufacturer headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut, U.S. (the maker ATF names)
Fact tags
  • ATF the ATF wording states it.
  • REF ¹ an outside reference supports it; the number points to the list of references.
  • ESTIMATE an approximate or indirect reading, for example the production range of the base model.
  • NO CITATION we haven’t attached a reference for this fact; it’s our editorial reading, not ATF’s.
Source checked
20 October 2026: ATF’s page still lists the April 2025 edition
Corrections
2 changes · see below

Correction history

  1. Evidence passEditorial confidence: Low → High. Re-rated after supporting references were added or re-checked.
  2. Evidence passYears: 1927–1974 → 1933. Proofhouse's Police Positive Special & Detective Special serial table (one shared series) puts S/N 418162 between 412000 (1933) and 423000 (1934)

All corrections · How corrections work

Historical context

Colt Detective Special (base model shown for Colt Detective Special, Lindbergh revolver)
Shown: a first-generation Colt Detective Special, not Lindbergh's revolver (S/N 418162).

Image: Wikimedia Commons, “Colt Detective Special - 1st gen (49655955672).jpg” by lifesizepotato from San Antonio, TX, CC0. Retrieved October 2026.

Summary: Wikipedia, “Colt Detective Special”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.

FROM WIKIPEDIA

The Colt Detective Special is a six-shot, carbon steel framed, 2-inch (51 mm) or 3-inch (76 mm) barreled, double-action revolver, and the first example of a class of firearms known as "snubnose revolvers".