M Model .380 semi-auto markings

hotsight · August 28, 2009, 07:48 PM

I'm a newbie, hold laughter until I male a complete fool of myself.

I had visited your site and saw in a forum that some members were talking about the .380 Hammerless and it was an interesting subject, so I’m sending this to you for your perusal.

I have a Silver Model M .380 pearl grips Ser # 92735. It looks identical to the image of a M 32 Gold plated Colt. The Only difference other than the calibre that I can see is, My pearl grips do not have a medallion on them, just the screw in the correct position, the magazine has the Cal .380 Colt on the bottom. I think my Colt .380 was manufactured in 1926 going by one of your charts.

Q:?
On the left side (barrel to your left) on the trigger guard is stamped what looks like the digit 1 and a symbol just below it.

Q:?
On the right side (barrel to your right) looks like the stamped digit 48 and a symbol below that.

What do those markings mean?

The whole area of the trigger guard looks to be in near perfect shape, no ring scratches.
This .380 has an interesting story in terms of how I acquired her in 1973 and have never fired her.
.

Thanks

OldShooter · August 28, 2009, 08:17 PM

Very pretty gun. Did it come in a presentation box. The model 1903 hammerless was in .32acp. The model 1908 was in .380acp. Yours obviously is a special issue. I can't help you with the markings.

hotsight · August 28, 2009, 08:52 PM

Thank you for your comments. My .380 was acquired from a sweet, little old lady whose husband had passed away years prior. She didn’t want a dangerous item like this in her home. She had it in a large cookie jar in the kitchen. Asked if I wanted to buy it and I did. She said her husband had brought it back from Germany and that is all I know about it. Ironic isn’t it, it looks like a normal .380 of that period, still, it doesn’t fit for a couple of reasons, but I just don’t think its been modified.. I haven’t seen much on special issues, but I’ll keep searching.

The receiver/slide is surprisingly strong in terms of sliding back to cock and inject the first round. Its a very tight weapon, no rattles unless you lock the slide back, then of course, the barrel has some slack. I was in the Marine Corps in Nam and carried some 45 Cal that rattled like an old tool box.

Thank You

hotsight · September 2, 2009, 09:32 PM

To The Membership F.Y.I.

I sent Sir Sam Lisker, pics of my .380 M 1908 and Sam cleared up my questions.

Now, Sam has never physically seen or held this weapon, he just saw the pics as posted here Okay? His comments were:

Thanks for the email and photos. I'm backed up a bit and really make an effort to answer all email, so please excuse the delay.

Your Colt is a Model 1908 Pocket Hammerless .380 ACP. You are correct, from the serial number, it was manufactured in 1926. From what I can see in the photos, the gun appears to be nickel plated. The plain mother of pearl grips may be factory and if so, would be of an earlier vintage than your gun.

To check, if you remove the magazine and look up inside the magazine well, see if there are black or red spacers on the backs of the grips. If there are just small pins, then the grips are aftermarket.

The "1" and "48" are assemblers and inspectors numbers from when the gun
was manufactured.

It's a beautiful gun and if I didn't already have a few nice examples in this configuration, I would have a serious interest in your pistol. From what I can see in the photos, and assuming the gun has the original factory finish, I would value the gun in the $x,xxx.00 to $x,xxx.00 range.

I hope this helps and please let me know if you have any other questions about your Colt.

Regards,

Sam Lisker
Coltautos.com

Hotsight:

I followed Sir Sam's instructions and found what looked like brass pins on the inside of the MOP grips. so, they are after market grips.

As far as I can tell the finish is original, no color fade or other noticable blemishes, but hey,I'm no expert. The magazine is also Nickle plated.

Thanks Sam, we appreciate you.

August 28, 2009, 08:17 PM	#2
OldShooter Senior Member Join Date: March 28, 2006 Location: Maine Posts: 846	Colt Very pretty gun. Did it come in a presentation box. The model 1903 hammerless was in .32acp. The model 1908 was in .380acp. Yours obviously is a special issue. I can't help you with the markings.

August 28, 2009, 08:52 PM	#3
hotsight Junior Member Join Date: August 28, 2009 Posts: 4	Thanks OldShooter Thank you for your comments. My .380 was acquired from a sweet, little old lady whose husband had passed away years prior. She didn’t want a dangerous item like this in her home. She had it in a large cookie jar in the kitchen. Asked if I wanted to buy it and I did. She said her husband had brought it back from Germany and that is all I know about it. Ironic isn’t it, it looks like a normal .380 of that period, still, it doesn’t fit for a couple of reasons, but I just don’t think its been modified.. I haven’t seen much on special issues, but I’ll keep searching. The receiver/slide is surprisingly strong in terms of sliding back to cock and inject the first round. Its a very tight weapon, no rattles unless you lock the slide back, then of course, the barrel has some slack. I was in the Marine Corps in Nam and carried some 45 Cal that rattled like an old tool box. Thank You

September 2, 2009, 09:32 PM	#4
hotsight Junior Member Join Date: August 28, 2009 Posts: 4	Mystery Of My 1908 .380 Solved By Sam Lisker To The Membership F.Y.I. I sent Sir Sam Lisker, pics of my .380 M 1908 and Sam cleared up my questions. Now, Sam has never physically seen or held this weapon, he just saw the pics as posted here Okay? His comments were: Thanks for the email and photos. I'm backed up a bit and really make an effort to answer all email, so please excuse the delay. Your Colt is a Model 1908 Pocket Hammerless .380 ACP. You are correct, from the serial number, it was manufactured in 1926. From what I can see in the photos, the gun appears to be nickel plated. The plain mother of pearl grips may be factory and if so, would be of an earlier vintage than your gun. To check, if you remove the magazine and look up inside the magazine well, see if there are black or red spacers on the backs of the grips. If there are just small pins, then the grips are aftermarket. The "1" and "48" are assemblers and inspectors numbers from when the gun was manufactured. It's a beautiful gun and if I didn't already have a few nice examples in this configuration, I would have a serious interest in your pistol. From what I can see in the photos, and assuming the gun has the original factory finish, I would value the gun in the $x,xxx.00 to $x,xxx.00 range. I hope this helps and please let me know if you have any other questions about your Colt. Regards, Sam Lisker Coltautos.com Hotsight: I followed Sir Sam's instructions and found what looked like brass pins on the inside of the MOP grips. so, they are after market grips. As far as I can tell the finish is original, no color fade or other noticable blemishes, but hey,I'm no expert. The magazine is also Nickle plated. Thanks Sam, we appreciate you.