Description
Item Description
Bryant Ridge Auction Company is pleased to present this RARE double/single action revolver today for a penny start auction, this is the Colt Official Police MKIII DETROIT POLICE!
This gun is from a famous run of revolvers special ordered with the 5” barrel and nickel finish for the Detroit police!!
These guns are a well known & documented run from the Detroit Police, and all known examples are nickel. As can be seen on the letter, It is of further interest to note that Colt Factory Order #12474 is missing from Colt’s records, and that further details pertaining to the specifications of the above described shipment of revolvers are unavailable. Because of the missing records at Colt, these examples letter as blue from the factory.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Manufacturer: Colt
Model: Official Police MKIII
Serial: 5850J
Date of Manufacture: 1973
Caliber: .38 Special
Finish: Nickel
Barrel Length: 5"
Optics/Sights: Fixed Front/Gutter Rear
Stock/Grips: Checkered Wood with Colt Medallions
Action: Double/Single Action
Markings: Standard / “DETROIT POLICE” marking on the backstrap.
Bryant Ridge's Analysis:
Contents:
This example will ship with the Colt Factory Letter!
Return Policy:
We gladly offer a 3 day unfired inspection policy from the time that the firearm is delivered to your FFL. Refunds are available for all qualifying orders.
Model: Official Police MKIII
Serial: 5850J
Date of Manufacture: 1973
Caliber: .38 Special
Finish: Nickel
Barrel Length: 5"
Optics/Sights: Fixed Front/Gutter Rear
Stock/Grips: Checkered Wood with Colt Medallions
Action: Double/Single Action
Markings: Standard / “DETROIT POLICE” marking on the backstrap.
Bryant Ridge's Analysis:
According to the included factory letter this example was sold to the City of Detroit, City Controller at 1110 City-County Bldg. in Detroit, Michigan. It was then shipped to Detroit Police Department, Police Training at 6001 Cass Avenue in Detroit, Michigan on April 2, 1973. It was in Colt Factory Order #12474 with a total of 4 other guns in the same shipment.
By the later 1960s Colt's revolvers were becoming too expensive and labor-intensive to maintain profitability against competitors. The old Colt designs required extensive labor by Master assemblers to build the complex hand-fitted actions. This was pricing Colt out of the market so they began designing an entirely new action unlike anything offered before by any gun maker. This new design was to be a replacement for the old Colt medium-frame revolvers. Just as Colt had offered everything from service-type revolvers to target revolvers in the medium frame, this new design would offer new replacements for those models.
The new frame type would be named the Colt "J" frame, Mark III. The design was a totally new concept with nothing in common with the older Colt design. Instead of the intricate old design using flat springs, the new models would use coil springs and a revolutionary "transfer bar" ignition and safety system to replace the old Colt rebounding hammer and safety block system. In this new design a flat steel lever, or bar, would rise up between the frame-mounted firing pin and the hammer when the trigger was pulled. When the hammer dropped, it struck the transfer bar which in turn struck the firing pin to transfer the force to the firing pin to ignite the cartridge. The Official Police Mark III was another version of the Lawman only with the thin, "skinny" old Official Police-type barrel fitted with a larger ramped front sight. They were chambered for the caliber .38 Special, featured barrel lengths of 4-inch, 5-inch, and 6-inch, and were finished in bright blue and bright nickel.
By the later 1960s Colt's revolvers were becoming too expensive and labor-intensive to maintain profitability against competitors. The old Colt designs required extensive labor by Master assemblers to build the complex hand-fitted actions. This was pricing Colt out of the market so they began designing an entirely new action unlike anything offered before by any gun maker. This new design was to be a replacement for the old Colt medium-frame revolvers. Just as Colt had offered everything from service-type revolvers to target revolvers in the medium frame, this new design would offer new replacements for those models.
The new frame type would be named the Colt "J" frame, Mark III. The design was a totally new concept with nothing in common with the older Colt design. Instead of the intricate old design using flat springs, the new models would use coil springs and a revolutionary "transfer bar" ignition and safety system to replace the old Colt rebounding hammer and safety block system. In this new design a flat steel lever, or bar, would rise up between the frame-mounted firing pin and the hammer when the trigger was pulled. When the hammer dropped, it struck the transfer bar which in turn struck the firing pin to transfer the force to the firing pin to ignite the cartridge. The Official Police Mark III was another version of the Lawman only with the thin, "skinny" old Official Police-type barrel fitted with a larger ramped front sight. They were chambered for the caliber .38 Special, featured barrel lengths of 4-inch, 5-inch, and 6-inch, and were finished in bright blue and bright nickel.
Contents:
This example will ship with the Colt Factory Letter!
Return Policy:
We gladly offer a 3 day unfired inspection policy from the time that the firearm is delivered to your FFL. Refunds are available for all qualifying orders.
Shipping Details
Handgun Standard Shipping $50.00
Long Gun Standard Shipping $65.00
We strive to ship orders within the close of the following business day after payment and documentation is received.
Payment Details
We accept all forms of Payment including Personal Check, Business Check, PO Money Orders, Certified Check, Etc.
Please note we place a 7 business day hold on shipment, for all non-certified payments.
Return Policy
We gladly offer a 3 day unfired inspection policy from the time that the firearm is delivered to your FFL. Refunds are available for all qualifying orders.
Additional Details
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