1903 Colt Pocket Hammerless

This Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless .32 ACP Model M, Type III was manufactured in 1922. It holds 9 rounds, 8 in the magazine plus 1 in the chamber. The .32 ACP round is also known as the 7.65 mm.

Humphrey Bogart used a similar gun in "Casa Blanca", "Key Largo" and "The Big Sleep" all in the 1940s. Bogart also used one in his next-to-last film "The Desperate Hours" in 1955.

According to the Colt Archive Letter, my gun was one of fifty guns shipped to Shapleigh Hardware Company in St. Louis, Missouri on August 8, 1922. This design is another of John Browning's patents. I really don't know why Colt stopped producing them. I think the production numbers were around 570,000. Colt also made a .380 version of this design starting in 1908 and produced more than 130,000 of those guns.

Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless .32 ACP Model M, Type III: This gun was manufactured in 1922. It holds 9 rounds, 8 in the magazine plus 1 in the chamber. The .32 ACP round is also known as the 7.65 mm.

The Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless .32 caliber (or 7.65 mm) was manufactured by Colt in Hartford, Ct from 1903 until 1945. The price of these guns varies depending on condition, features and history with provenance. This gun was one of the last issued with checkered hard rubber grips with the "Rampant Colt" molded into them. In 1924 the grips were changed to checkered walnut with the Colt medallions.

I won't be much help in dating one of these guns with a serial number above 543000. REQUEST: If you own one of these Colts from WWII production years and have a Colt Authentication Letter confirming the ship date, please share on my Facebook page.

Note: ACP is the acronym for Automatic Colt Pistol. The name "Pocket Hammerless" is misleading in that the gun is not truly hammerless, but features a concealed hammer to prevent snagging on clothing. Humphrey Bogart used a similar gun in "Casa Blanca", "Key Largo" and "The Big Sleep" all in the 1940s. Bogart also used one in his next-to-last film "The Desperate Hours" in 1955.

This is another gun that was designed by John Browning. These guns were used by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), precusor of the CIA, during WWII. They were also issued to all General Officers of the United States Armed Forces from the 1940s until 1972. The Pocket Hammerless: Was the best conceal carry gun of it's time. Many famous gangsters from that era used this gun; Al Capone, John Dillinger, Willie Sutton, Bonnie and Clyde.

In the realm of culture, 1965 saw The Beatles further cementing their popularity. They released the critically acclaimed album "Rubber Soul" and performed the first stadium concert in the history of rock music at Shea Stadium in New York, which was a landmark event in the history of music.

I paid $500 for this re-blued gun in 2006. I bought it to be a "shooter", not a collectible gun. These guns can be highly collectible, it just depends on condition and provenance. In my personal opinion these guns should be worth 2 to 3 times current market value, unfortunately it is just not the case.