RARE CASED COLT MODEL 1860 ARMY REVOLVER GIVEN TO ATTY. GEN. EDWARD BATES.

RARE CASED COLT MODEL 1860 ARMY REVOLVER GIVEN TO ATTY. GEN. EDWARD BATES. Cal. 44. SN 11705. In November 1861 Samuel Colt began a vigorous campaign to sell his revolvers to the Union Army for the looming Civil War. It is recorded that Colt presented sixty Colt revolvers to various high ranking Army personnel and members of President Lincoln’s cabinet. One of these individuals was Atty. Gen. Edward Bates. Bates was a lawyer from Missouri who was a strict Constitutionalist and apparently a very stern man, one who would probably have regarded an ostentatious gift as an attempted bribe. It is believed that Colt recognized this and presented him with a single cased revolver without inscription instead of the cased inscribed pairs which were part of this promotion, that have surfaced to this point. It is known that a cased pair #11703 & #11704 were presented to Gen. Andrew Porter and another pair #11706 & #11707 were presented to Gen. Irwin McDowell. Both were inscribed with the General’s name “with the compliments of Col. Colt”. Our revolver, obviously, falls directly between these pairs and is of identical configuration to them in that it is extra finished with bright glossy blue and select highly figured walnut grips and there is a punch dot below each serial number on the bbl, frame, trigger guard and back strap.

This revolver is standard configuration with 8″ rnd bbl, German silver front sight, rebated 6-shot cylinder with Ormsby naval battle scene. It has a 4-screw frame cut for shoulder stock with flat head hammer screw and short stock screws. As previously mentioned, the serial numbers are all accompanied by a punch dot and it has deluxe walnut 1-piece grip. The casing is standard mahogany with red velvet lining and compartments for the revolver, angled short spout 1-sided Colt’s powder flask, a blued 2-cavity Colt’s patent bullet mold, an L-shaped nipple wrench, a packet of skin cartridges and a tin of Eley’s caps. Also accompanying are several spare parts for this revolver including a hammer spring, nipple, hand with spring, timing spring, two stock lug screws and a frame screw. In addition there is a GAR medal and the original key.

This revolver was initially loaned to a museum on December 6, 1929 by Mrs. Charles N. Bates, sister-in-law of Lt. Gen. John Coalter Bates who was the son of Atty. Gen. Edward Bates. Gen. Bates enlisted as a Lieutenant in 1861 at the age of 19 and was a Brev’t. Lt. Col. at the end of the war. He remained in the Army for the rest of his working life and retired in 1906 and died February 4, 1919, never having married. The museum accession card has a subsequent note dated 1940 that the loan had become a gift. It stands to reason that in 1861 Colt would have had no reason to make a presentation to a lowly Lieutenant who would have had no influence in the purchase of arms for the Union. Whereas the father, Edward Bates, would have been in a position to exert a measure of influence if he so desired. It can be surmised then, that Gen John C. Bates was wither gifted this set by his father or inherited it with his passing.

Apparently some time during the 1960’s this revolver and accessories were acquired by a Mr. Ken Ermine “for services rendered” to the museum. Mr. Ermine apparently did various restoration chores on the collection in the 1960’s. In a letter dated December 10, 1981, the assistant curator to the museum states that they could not verify if it was a gift to Mr. Ermine, but neither did they list it as stolen. In a subsequent letter they state that they have closed the file on this revolver and accessories in question.

This lot is accompanied by copies of the accession cards from the museum, copies of letters from the museum as previously mentioned and copies of an article by John G. Hamilton regarding this revolver which appeared in the May 1988 Gun Report. Also, a copy of page 7 of the November 1977 Arms Gazette which lists an advertisement by Alan S. Kelley for a similar revolver presented to Lincoln’s Secretary of War, Simon Cameron, serial number 11708.

CONDITION: Extremely fine, the bbl retains 65-70% bright glossy blue with a cleaned area on the top. The rammer & lever retain about 60% dark case colors. The cylinder retains about 80% original blue, strong and bright in the rebated area, thin elsewhere and retains about 90% naval battle scene. All six safety pins are intact. The frame retains about all of its original case colors, dark and fading to gray on the recoil shields, bright on the sides, fading toward the front edge. The hammer retains 60-70% case colors. The back strap retains about 65% thin blue and the bottom of the butt about 90% brilliant blue. The trigger guard retains about all of its original silver plate. The grips are extremely fine with minor handling marks and retain virtually all their brilliant varnish. Mechanics are crisp, strong bright bore with scattered light to moderate pitting. Hamilton Collection 4-52112 JR830 (75,000-125,000)

Auction: Firearms - Fall 2004

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
	1204	$54,625.00	RARE CASED COLT MODEL 1860 ARMY REVOLVER GIVEN TO ATTY. GEN. EDWARD BATES. Cal. 44. SN 11705. In November 1861 Samuel Colt began a vigorous campaign to sell his revolvers to the Union Army for the looming Civil War. It is recorded that Colt presented sixty Colt revolvers to various high ranking Army personnel and members of President Lincoln’s cabinet. One of these individuals was Atty. Gen. Edward Bates. Bates was a lawyer from Missouri who was a strict Constitutionalist and apparently a very stern man, one who would probably have regarded an ostentatious gift as an attempted bribe. It is believed that Colt recognized this and presented him with a single cased revolver without inscription instead of the cased inscribed pairs which were part of this promotion, that have surfaced to this point. It is known that a cased pair #11703 & #11704 were presented to Gen. Andrew Porter and another pair #11706 & #11707 were presented to Gen. Irwin McDowell. Both were inscribed with the General’s name “with the compliments of Col. Colt”. Our revolver, obviously, falls directly between these pairs and is of identical configuration to them in that it is extra finished with bright glossy blue and select highly figured walnut grips and there is a punch dot below each serial number on the bbl, frame, trigger guard and back strap. This revolver is standard configuration with 8″ rnd bbl, German silver front sight, rebated 6-shot cylinder with Ormsby naval battle scene. It has a 4-screw frame cut for shoulder stock with flat head hammer screw and short stock screws. As previously mentioned, the serial numbers are all accompanied by a punch dot and it has deluxe walnut 1-piece grip. The casing is standard mahogany with red velvet lining and compartments for the revolver, angled short spout 1-sided Colt’s powder flask, a blued 2-cavity Colt’s patent bullet mold, an L-shaped nipple wrench, a packet of skin cartridges and a tin of Eley’s caps. Also accompanying are several spare parts for this revolver including a hammer spring, nipple, hand with spring, timing spring, two stock lug screws and a frame screw. In addition there is a GAR medal and the original key. This revolver was initially loaned to a museum on December 6, 1929 by Mrs. Charles N. Bates, sister-in-law of Lt. Gen. John Coalter Bates who was the son of Atty. Gen. Edward Bates. Gen. Bates enlisted as a Lieutenant in 1861 at the age of 19 and was a Brev’t. Lt. Col. at the end of the war. He remained in the Army for the rest of his working life and retired in 1906 and died February 4, 1919, never having married. The museum accession card has a subsequent note dated 1940 that the loan had become a gift. It stands to reason that in 1861 Colt would have had no reason to make a presentation to a lowly Lieutenant who would have had no influence in the purchase of arms for the Union. Whereas the father, Edward Bates, would have been in a position to exert a measure of influence if he so desired. It can be surmised then, that Gen John C. Bates was wither gifted this set by his father or inherited it with his passing. Apparently some time during the 1960’s this revolver and accessories were acquired by a Mr. Ken Ermine “for services rendered” to the museum. Mr. Ermine apparently did various restoration chores on the collection in the 1960’s. In a letter dated December 10, 1981, the assistant curator to the museum states that they could not verify if it was a gift to Mr. Ermine, but neither did they list it as stolen. In a subsequent letter they state that they have closed the file on this revolver and accessories in question. This lot is accompanied by copies of the accession cards from the museum, copies of letters from the museum as previously mentioned and copies of an article by John G. Hamilton regarding this revolver which appeared in the May 1988 Gun Report. Also, a copy of page 7 of the November 1977 Arms Gazette which lists an advertisement by Alan S. Kelley for a similar revolver presented to Lincoln’s Secretary of War, Simon Cameron, serial number 11708. CONDITION: Extremely fine, the bbl retains 65-70% bright glossy blue with a cleaned area on the top. The rammer & lever retain about 60% dark case colors. The cylinder retains about 80% original blue, strong and bright in the rebated area, thin elsewhere and retains about 90% naval battle scene. All six safety pins are intact. The frame retains about all of its original case colors, dark and fading to gray on the recoil shields, bright on the sides, fading toward the front edge. The hammer retains 60-70% case colors. The back strap retains about 65% thin blue and the bottom of the butt about 90% brilliant blue. The trigger guard retains about all of its original silver plate. The grips are extremely fine with minor handling marks and retain virtually all their brilliant varnish. Mechanics are crisp, strong bright bore with scattered light to moderate pitting. Hamilton Collection 4-52112 JR830 (75,000-125,000) Auction: Firearms - Fall 2004 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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