1965 Colt Python

This Colt Python was manufactured in 1965. It has a 2½" barrel and nickel finish.

2 1/2 bbl gun in shoulder holster

Serial Number Table

The first 99,999 Pythons had no letter in the serial number.

Year of DOM	Begin Serial Number	End Serial Number	Yearly Prod. Totals
1955	1	299	299
1956	300	1649	1,350
1957	1650	5549	3,900
1958	5550	7049	1,500
1959	7050	9099	2,050
1960	9100	13099	4,000
1961	13100	18799	5,700
1962	18800	24799	6,000
1963	24800	30799	6,000
1964	30800	41399	10,600
1965	41400	50499	9,100
1966	50500	60999	10,500
1967	61000	73799	12,800
1968	73800	89999	15,200
1969	90000	99999	10,000

Tables for later Pythons can be found here.

Colt Database Search

The increase in production in 1964 indicates that the CNC machining process may have been introduced. Toward the end of 1969 the letter "E" was added as a prefix to the serial number. In 1975 the letter "E" was moved to the end of the number, becoming a suffix. In 1978 and later other letters were used.

CNC Machining Info Provided by Ron (Thank you Ron, very insightful)

"You made a statement that CNC machining had an impact on the possible quality or value of guns made after 1965. I have been in the CNC machining business since its introduction to the manufacturing industry. It really did not have much of an impact until the mid to late 70’s. Most machining was done on manual machines before that. One of the main reasons was the cost of the equipment and high degree of training to program and operate older CNC machines. Also they were highly unreliable. In the beginning, one needed to know a great deal about electronics just to keep them going. By 1980 they were very reliable, easy to program and produced very high quality components, much more so than a good machinist on a manual machine. So as far as quality of the parts in a Colt revolver: the ones produced on modern CNC machines were most likely superior to the older hand made versions.

I love your web site and hope it continues to grow." Ron