Manufactured in 1941. The included Colt factory letter states this Official Police revolver was shipped on June 16, 1941 to "Joseph A. Lorch/For: F.F. Lilly/Bureau of Narcotics" of Washington, D.C. as part of a 30 gun shipment. Lorch was Colt's Washington representative and handled orders for a number of federal government agencies. The letter also verifies a 4 inch barrel, blue finish, 3 1/2 lb trigger pull, and grips "Not Listed". Fitted with a possibly factory installed later production 4 inch heavy bull barrel roll stamped "COLT BORDER PATROL/.38 SPEC. - HEAVY DUTY". Standard frame markings, serrated trigger, wide checkered hammer, and fitted with checkered plastic grips with the Rampant Colt molded at the tops. Provenance: The Dr. Robert Azar Collection

Very fine as possibly factory rebarreled (see above), retaining 90% original high polish blue finish with some light muzzle wear, a small brown spot on top of the barrel, light cylinder drag line, some light spotting on the straps, and some light scratches on the rear strap. Grips are also very fine with some light handling marks and overall crisp checkering. Mechanically excellent. This unique revolver most likely was utilized by the government for test purposes.