Colt Lightweight Prototype Police Positive Revolver

Most Colt revolvers left Hartford and went to work. This one never made it out the front door. The factory letter tells the whole story: built July 2, 1952, chambered in .32 Police Positive with a 2 inch barrel, and retained inside the Colt engineering department as a development prototype for the lightweight series. It lived in the engineering office vault, not a dealer's case. For a Colt collector, that kind of in house provenance is the whole ballgame.

The gun reads exactly like the letter describes. The barrel carries the Police Positive .32 roll mark on the left side, with the Colt's Mfg. Co. Hartford CT USA address running down the right. The rampant colt sits proud on the frame just ahead of the grip. Finish is a deep, even blue across the frame, cylinder, and barrel, the kind of high polish work Colt was still doing in this era. The hammer and trigger keep their case colored contrast against all that blue.

What sets the lightweight series apart is the frame itself. This is an alloy gun built to shave weight off the standard steel Police Positive, and that engineering goal is the reason this example exists. You can see the development intent in how clean and deliberate everything sits together.

The grips are checkered walnut wearing the older style silver Colt medallions. They fill the hand the way a six shooter from this period should. The bore is bright, the action times up tight, and the chambers ring clean.

It comes housed in a French fit hardwood presentation case built by Colt Custom, with deep red lining cut to the revolver's profile. The factory letter and that auction history at the 1980 Las Vegas Antique Gun Show round out a paper trail few small frame Colts can claim. If you collect Colt by the story behind the gun, this one earns the shelf.