ask.com should get you started. You may also try proofhouse.com.
http://www.coltsmfg.com/
Sorry the records I have only go up to 1978 and there is no serial number for a colt detective special beginning with the letter P up until that time.
To identify and account for otherwise identical guns.
if you find different numbers on a pistol chances are it is a parts gun. made up of several different guns
None of the existing ORIGINAL guns have serial numbers.
1968
YES
Inventory tracking for firearms. BTW, ammunition does not have a serial number.
The colt commando was only made between 1942-1943,with total production being 50,167 guns.
You can find Winchester Serial numbers at the Old Guns website. http://oldguns.net/sn_php/winmods.htm Great place for info on antique guns when you are writing a historical :) Wayne
SOME guns had serial numbers in the late 1800s. They were required by law on handguns and machine guns in 1934 (in the US) and on rifles and shotguns in 1968.
They were required after the Gun Control Act of 1968.