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 · 206

Colt Police Positive .38, 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. 7 ↗

Colt, Police Positive, cal. .38, revolvers, 2" barrels, marked "R.M.S. P.O. DEPT." or "U.S.P.O. DEPT.", S/Ns above 383000.

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: “revolvers, 2" barrels”
  • ATF REQUIRESYour serial number is one ATF listsATF: “S/Ns above 383000”
  • INFOATF states no date; production was about 1939–1947.

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 383000 · c. 1939–1947production; 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. 7 ↗ · 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 .38 & Bankers Special": 1939 begins at 383000 (table runs to 1943 at 406725), so guns above S/N 383000 date from 1939
  2. Wikipedia, “Colt Police Positive” ↗, years (estimate: range of the base model): infobox production date 1907–1947
  3. Wikipedia, “Colt Police Positive” ↗, 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: 1925–1949 → 1939–1947. Proofhouse's Police Positive .38 table puts the ATF cut-off S/N 383000 at 1939, and Wikipedia's infobox ends Police Positive production in 1947

All corrections · How corrections work

Historical context

Colt Police Positive (base model shown for Colt Police Positive .38, postal service issue)
Shown: a 6-inch .32 Colt Police Positive, not this 2-inch postal service issue.

Image: Wikimedia Commons, “Colt.png” by Dake, CC BY-SA 1.0. Retrieved October 2026.

Summary: Wikipedia, “Colt Police Positive”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.

FROM WIKIPEDIA

The Colt Police Positive is a small-frame, double-action revolver featuring a six-round cylinder, chambered for either .32 or .38 caliber. A .22 caliber model was also offered. Designed primarily for sale to federal, state, or local law enforcement agencies, the Police Positive was introduced into the firearms market by Colt's Manufacturing Company in 1905.