EXTRAORDINARY RARE COLT PROTOTYPE MODEL 1871-1872 POCKET SIZED CENTER FIRE REVOLVER.

SN 8. Cal. 38 CF. Silver finish with 5-5/8″ rnd bbl, brass pin front sight and 1-line New-York U.S. American address. Breech end of the bbl has a tiny dovetailed V-notch sight just at the end of the address. Right side of bbl lug is mounted with a small ejector housing that has a very nicely checkered half-moon ejector rod head. Bbl is a new manufactured item, not a conversion from another model. Frame is completely unmarked except for SN. Cyl is rebated with 5-chambers like the pocket Navy and has stage coach holdup scene roll marking. Frame & cyl are also new manufactured items, not conversions, with solid recoil shield recessed about 1/4″ for the cyl star wheel. The hammer is an identical miniature of the later Single Action Army revolver with conical firing pin and a conical recess in the frame. Frame has a loading gate at the right side with external tension spring. Brass grip frame has a large trigger guard and contains a 1-pc smooth ebony grip matching numbered to this revolver. Serial number “8” was observed on the frame, trigger guard, buttstrap and cyl spindle. Rear face of the bbl lug, wedge, loading gate and right rear face of frame have the tiny number “7”. Cyl appears to be unnumbered, but may have had a tiny number on the face, which is now obscured by pitting. Left side of bbl lug and cyl have tiny British proofs. An article by Harry C. Konde that appeared in the September 1964 guns magazine discussed another of these revolvers, SN “1” which is pictured with ivory grip and a 62 Police bbl versus the orig bbl on this revolver. Another picture, however, later in the article shows a revolver similar to this one. Page 234, illustration B of The Book of Colt Firearms, Wilson, depicts 2 nearly identical revolvers, SN’s “1” & “2”. Caption reads “two of the limited group of arms believed made for testing the British and American market for this design of revolver”. Accompanying is a 2 pg letter by R.L. Wilson discussing this very revolver and its various features. He hypothesises that because of the British dislike of rimfire cartridges, Colt made up several of these revolvers that were hand carried to England for testing, probably in about 1872. Apparently nothing came of this test and this model was never placed into production. As of this writing it is still unknown how many of these revolvers were actually made, but, as Mr. Wilson speculated, probably no more than a dozen. From the available material it appears that only SN’s 1, 2 & 8 are known. PROVENANCE: The William Gerber Family Collection. CONDITION: Very fine, overall retains about 90% strong orig silver plating with some dulling on the front and back straps; cyl retains about 85-90% orig silver finish and shows 70-75% stage coach holdup scene roll marking; grip is sound showing some light wear with a very few light scratches and retains most of its orig finish. Mechanics are fine, bright shiny bore with a few scattered spots of moderate to heavy pitting. This is undoubtedly an extremely rare gun that requires additional research. (WG-046) 4-51069 JR516 (50,000-100,000) – Lot 2039

Auction: Firearms - Spring 2014

Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

Image	Lot	Price	Description
	2039	$0.00	EXTRAORDINARY RARE COLT PROTOTYPE MODEL 1871-1872 POCKET SIZED CENTER FIRE REVOLVER. SN 8. Cal. 38 CF. Silver finish with 5-5/8″ rnd bbl, brass pin front sight and 1-line New-York U.S. American address. Breech end of the bbl has a tiny dovetailed V-notch sight just at the end of the address. Right side of bbl lug is mounted with a small ejector housing that has a very nicely checkered half-moon ejector rod head. Bbl is a new manufactured item, not a conversion from another model. Frame is completely unmarked except for SN. Cyl is rebated with 5-chambers like the pocket Navy and has stage coach holdup scene roll marking. Frame & cyl are also new manufactured items, not conversions, with solid recoil shield recessed about 1/4″ for the cyl star wheel. The hammer is an identical miniature of the later Single Action Army revolver with conical firing pin and a conical recess in the frame. Frame has a loading gate at the right side with external tension spring. Brass grip frame has a large trigger guard and contains a 1-pc smooth ebony grip matching numbered to this revolver. Serial number “8” was observed on the frame, trigger guard, buttstrap and cyl spindle. Rear face of the bbl lug, wedge, loading gate and right rear face of frame have the tiny number “7”. Cyl appears to be unnumbered, but may have had a tiny number on the face, which is now obscured by pitting. Left side of bbl lug and cyl have tiny British proofs. An article by Harry C. Konde that appeared in the September 1964 guns magazine discussed another of these revolvers, SN “1” which is pictured with ivory grip and a 62 Police bbl versus the orig bbl on this revolver. Another picture, however, later in the article shows a revolver similar to this one. Page 234, illustration B of The Book of Colt Firearms, Wilson, depicts 2 nearly identical revolvers, SN’s “1” & “2”. Caption reads “two of the limited group of arms believed made for testing the British and American market for this design of revolver”. Accompanying is a 2 pg letter by R.L. Wilson discussing this very revolver and its various features. He hypothesises that because of the British dislike of rimfire cartridges, Colt made up several of these revolvers that were hand carried to England for testing, probably in about 1872. Apparently nothing came of this test and this model was never placed into production. As of this writing it is still unknown how many of these revolvers were actually made, but, as Mr. Wilson speculated, probably no more than a dozen. From the available material it appears that only SN’s 1, 2 & 8 are known. PROVENANCE: The William Gerber Family Collection. CONDITION: Very fine, overall retains about 90% strong orig silver plating with some dulling on the front and back straps; cyl retains about 85-90% orig silver finish and shows 70-75% stage coach holdup scene roll marking; grip is sound showing some light wear with a very few light scratches and retains most of its orig finish. Mechanics are fine, bright shiny bore with a few scattered spots of moderate to heavy pitting. This is undoubtedly an extremely rare gun that requires additional research. (WG-046) 4-51069 JR516 (50,000-100,000) – Lot 2039 Auction: Firearms - Spring 2014 Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

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EXTRAORDINARY RARE COLT PROTOTYPE MODEL 1871-1872 POCKET SIZED CENTER FIRE REVOLVER.