Colt Single Action Army was discontinued in 1999, as was the 4.75" variant, which was reintroduced in 2002. Manufacturing of the Colt Cowboy was discontinued in 2003. Colt engraved less than one percent of its first generation production of the Single Action Army revolver, which makes these engraved models extremely rare and valuable with collectors. Engraved pieces were often ordered by or for famous people of the day, including lawmen, heads of state, and captains of industry. This tradition began with the founder, Samuel Colt, who regularly gave such examples away as a means of publicity for Colt. Colt employed a number of engravers,
Colt Detective Special French Manurhins and the Sig Sauer SP 2022 in 2005. Colt Detective Special The Colt Detective Special is a six-shot, carbon steel framed, 2" barreled, double-action revolver, and the first example of a class of firearms known to gun enthusiasts as "snubnosed revolvers". Made by Colt's Manufacturing Company this model revolver, as the name "Detective Special" suggests, was intended to be concealed weapon used by plainclothes police detectives. Introduced in 1927, the Detective Special was the first short-barreled revolvers produced with a modern swing-out frame. It was designed from the outset to be chambered for higher-powered cartridges such as the