EXTRAORDINARY, ONE OF A KIND, RELIEF ENGRAVED, GOLD & NICKEL WINCHESTER MODEL 1866 LEVER ACTION RIFLE.

EXTRAORDINARY, ONE OF A KIND, RELIEF ENGRAVED, GOLD & NICKEL WINCHESTER MODEL 1866 LEVER ACTION RIFLE. SN 96741. Cal. 44 RF Henry. Spectacular rifle, gold & nickel finish with 24-1/4″ oct bbl, full magazine, gold washed Beech’s combination front sight and a reproduction Henry 900 yard ladder rear sight. Mounted with spectacular center crotch, flame grain, uncheckered American walnut with straight stock and gold plated brass crescent buttplate with trap containing an orig 4-pc brass & steel cleaning rod. Left side of lower tang, under the wood, is stamped “XXX” and a “V”. SN is in an engraved rectangle on the outer face of lower tang, inside the top tang channel of the buttstock and inside toe of buttplate. Receiver & forend cap have full coverage engraving, probably by John Ulrich which consists of ten large & small game scene vignettes all in semi-relief. The left sideplate is engraved with the large oval vignette of a standing hunter in a forest scene shooting two bull elk. To the rear of this large vignette are smaller vignettes of a standing bird dog, a partridge and below the large vignette is a tiny panel of a bear’s head. Forward of the large vignette is a small squirrel holding a nut and in the left front side panel is the rnd vignette of two feeding doe deer. Right sideplate is engraved with the large vignette of a standing bull elk, a reclining hind and a feeding fawn. To the rear are two smaller vignettes of a cougar and flying duck. In the right front side panel is the large rnd vignette of Diana the Huntress and her leaping hound. The remainder of the receiver has full coverage, intertwined foliate arabesque patterns with extremely fine punch dot background. The various scenes & panels are divided with counterpoint bright borders and decorative engraved borders. Forend cap has full coverage foliate arabesque patterns with a fine scalloped border around rear edge. Forend cap has a factory sling swivel with corresponding swivel in buttstock. The buttplate tang is engraved with matching foliate arabesque patterns surrounding a bright round counterpoint panel with decorative borders around the front edge. The bbl, magazine tube, lever, hammer & loading gate are nickel plated. Close examination of the receiver and tangs of this rifle disclosed no engraver’s signature. This rifle was discovered several years ago by well-known dealer/collector, LeRoy Merz in Spain. He personally traveled to Spain and purchased it from the great-great grandson of the former King of Spain. The family history of this rifle was that it was presented personally to the king by Oliver Winchester. Mr. Merz also purchased two other firearms from this direct descendant of the King of Spain, one being a Winchester Model 1873, SN 13, which was sold through the Julia Auction Company recently and a Colt Lightning Magazine rifle. It is almost without question that this rifle was created for a special presentation and given the elaborate and extensive engraving coverage, it certainly is of the quality one would expect for a royalty presentation. PROVENANCE: LeRoy Merz; Wes Adams Estate Collection. CONDITION: Extremely fine, all matching. Bbl retains 94-95% orig nickel with some flaked losses and fine freckling; magazine tube retains 96-97% restored nickel finish; receiver retains most of its bright orig gold wash with some light wear on right rear and right front sides of receiver; forend cap & buttplate retain virtually all of their orig factory gold wash; lever & hammer retain most of their orig nickel finish with a few small spots of flaking; wood is sound with numerous small nicks & scratches in the varnish and overall retains virtually all of its orig factory piano varnish finish; toe screw of buttplate is rusted which has stained the buttplate, but may clean; buttstock swivel is also lightly rusted; cleaning rod appears to be new & unused. 4-44554 JR299 (200,000-300,000)

Auction: Firearms - Spring 2012

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
	2002	$300,900.00	EXTRAORDINARY, ONE OF A KIND, RELIEF ENGRAVED, GOLD & NICKEL WINCHESTER MODEL 1866 LEVER ACTION RIFLE. SN 96741. Cal. 44 RF Henry. Spectacular rifle, gold & nickel finish with 24-1/4″ oct bbl, full magazine, gold washed Beech’s combination front sight and a reproduction Henry 900 yard ladder rear sight. Mounted with spectacular center crotch, flame grain, uncheckered American walnut with straight stock and gold plated brass crescent buttplate with trap containing an orig 4-pc brass & steel cleaning rod. Left side of lower tang, under the wood, is stamped “XXX” and a “V”. SN is in an engraved rectangle on the outer face of lower tang, inside the top tang channel of the buttstock and inside toe of buttplate. Receiver & forend cap have full coverage engraving, probably by John Ulrich which consists of ten large & small game scene vignettes all in semi-relief. The left sideplate is engraved with the large oval vignette of a standing hunter in a forest scene shooting two bull elk. To the rear of this large vignette are smaller vignettes of a standing bird dog, a partridge and below the large vignette is a tiny panel of a bear’s head. Forward of the large vignette is a small squirrel holding a nut and in the left front side panel is the rnd vignette of two feeding doe deer. Right sideplate is engraved with the large vignette of a standing bull elk, a reclining hind and a feeding fawn. To the rear are two smaller vignettes of a cougar and flying duck. In the right front side panel is the large rnd vignette of Diana the Huntress and her leaping hound. The remainder of the receiver has full coverage, intertwined foliate arabesque patterns with extremely fine punch dot background. The various scenes & panels are divided with counterpoint bright borders and decorative engraved borders. Forend cap has full coverage foliate arabesque patterns with a fine scalloped border around rear edge. Forend cap has a factory sling swivel with corresponding swivel in buttstock. The buttplate tang is engraved with matching foliate arabesque patterns surrounding a bright round counterpoint panel with decorative borders around the front edge. The bbl, magazine tube, lever, hammer & loading gate are nickel plated. Close examination of the receiver and tangs of this rifle disclosed no engraver’s signature. This rifle was discovered several years ago by well-known dealer/collector, LeRoy Merz in Spain. He personally traveled to Spain and purchased it from the great-great grandson of the former King of Spain. The family history of this rifle was that it was presented personally to the king by Oliver Winchester. Mr. Merz also purchased two other firearms from this direct descendant of the King of Spain, one being a Winchester Model 1873, SN 13, which was sold through the Julia Auction Company recently and a Colt Lightning Magazine rifle. It is almost without question that this rifle was created for a special presentation and given the elaborate and extensive engraving coverage, it certainly is of the quality one would expect for a royalty presentation. PROVENANCE: LeRoy Merz; Wes Adams Estate Collection. CONDITION: Extremely fine, all matching. Bbl retains 94-95% orig nickel with some flaked losses and fine freckling; magazine tube retains 96-97% restored nickel finish; receiver retains most of its bright orig gold wash with some light wear on right rear and right front sides of receiver; forend cap & buttplate retain virtually all of their orig factory gold wash; lever & hammer retain most of their orig nickel finish with a few small spots of flaking; wood is sound with numerous small nicks & scratches in the varnish and overall retains virtually all of its orig factory piano varnish finish; toe screw of buttplate is rusted which has stained the buttplate, but may clean; buttstock swivel is also lightly rusted; cleaning rod appears to be new & unused. 4-44554 JR299 (200,000-300,000) Auction: Firearms - Spring 2012 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.

.red{fill:#B50938;} .white{fill:#FFFFFF;} .blue{fill:#005596;}