SOLD - Rare Colt Banker's Special - Railway Service

Description

11/24/20 - This is a rare and desirable Colt Banker's Special revolver with factory letter. The letter indicates the gun was made in 1930 and sent to the general superintendent of the railway mail service in Seattle. It is estimated that only 250-500 such examples remain, as most were destroyed by the postal service. It has the depot numbering and RMS marking on the frame, which are factory applied and indicated as such in the letter. The Railway Mail Service was a sub-unit of the United States Post Office. At the time the RMS was the biggest transporter of domestic mail by volume. They operated out of rail cars, sorting the mail en-route and exchanging mail at stations without coming to a complete stop. RMS clerks often transported large sums of money, including acting as escort to federal gold shipments. This made robbery a real and present danger, requiring the armament of the clerks. While a large number of armed clerks rode the rails, most of the issued revolvers were reportedly destroyed at the end of their service lives. This pistol does bear the inspector mark "GWA" on the left side trigger guard, but unsure who it indicates did the inspection. Two inch barrel and chambered for .38 Colt. The grips appear original to the gun but are unmarked. The finish is original and does show some age and use, with finish loss on the muzzle, cylinder and grip frame. Excellent bore. Overall, a very nice example of a rare revolver, the first we've ever offered!