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 · 110

Colt Detective Special, postal service issue

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 revolvers, 2" barrels, marked "R.M.S. P.O. DEPT" or "U.S.P.O. DEPT."; S/Ns above 467000.

What this entry requires

  • ATF REQUIRESYour firearm carries the marking “marked "R.M.S. P.O. DEPT" or "U.S.P.O. DEPT."”
  • ATF REQUIRESConfigured as the ATF wording states: “Detective Special revolvers, 2" barrels”
  • ATF REQUIRESYour serial number is one ATF listsATF: “S/Ns above 467000”
  • INFOATF states no date; production was about 1939–1949.

Editorial facts · Our research

Country
United States⁴
Manufacturer
Colt's Patent Fire Arms Mfg. Co.
Type
Pistol
Action
Other³
Caliber
.38
Made
S/Ns above 467000 · c. 1939–1949production; ATF states no date¹²
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: Medium · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
References
  1. proofhouse.com ↗, years (estimate: partly supports it): Proofhouse serial table (Police Positive Special & Detective Special share one series): 1939 begins at 467000, so guns above S/N 467000 date from 1939; the 1949 end is our estimate
  2. Wikipedia, “Colt Detective Special” ↗, years (estimate: range of the base model): infobox First Series 1927–1946, Second Series 1947–1972
  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 → Medium. Re-rated after supporting references were added or re-checked.
  2. Evidence passYears: 1927–1949 → 1939–1949. Proofhouse's Police Positive Special & Detective Special table puts the ATF cut-off S/N 467000 at 1939, so no gun above it predates 1939; the 1949 end is our estimate

All corrections · How corrections work

Historical context

Colt Detective Special (base model shown for Colt Detective Special, postal service issue)
Shown: a later Colt Detective Special with shrouded ejector rod, not this postal service issue.

Image: Wikimedia Commons, “Colt Detective-JH01.jpg” by Jan Hrdonka en:User:Hrd10, Public domain. 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".