EXTREMELY RARE & UNUSUAL COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY REVOLVER.

EXTREMELY RARE & UNUSUAL COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY REVOLVER. SN 48487. Cal. 45 Colt. Unusual configuration with 7-1/2″ bbl with a rare special order silver front sight and 1-line small block letter address. It has 2nd type ejector housing with bull’s eye ejector rod head. Left side of frame has 2-line patent dates and left shoulder of trigger guard the caliber marking. Grip frame & grips are extremely unusual, resembling a Model 1878 DA revolver grip with a large hump at top of backstrap with rounded heel. SN was observed in the usual places on the frame, trigger guard & buttstrap with four digits of matching SN “8486” on bottom of bbl under ejector housing which is probably an assembler’s mistake. Cyl has the last three digits of SN “486”, the “6” has been overstamped with a “7”. Grips are equally unusual. They are highly figured, checkered walnut with matching hump near top back edges and a swelled heel area. Inside right grip is the pencil number “8” with balance of numbers obscured. The backstrap is engraved in period script “Mountaineer”. Accompanied by a Colt factory letter identifying this revolver in caliber 45 Colt, bbl length & type of stocks not listed, blue finish, under special features: “equipped with a silver sight 1/8″ higher than usual and stocks same as the double action”, shipped to William Crapo, address unavailable on June 10, 1878 in a 4-gun shipment. Also accompanied by a short note which is not related to this revolver, over the signature of “Wm. W. Crapo”. Additionally accompanied by a photograph purported to be of Mr. Crapo and two pictures of Mount Whitney in the Sierra Nevada Mtns of CA. The competition to be the first to climb Mount Whitney, at the time the highest peak in the United States, was fierce in the early 1870s. Crapo is said to have been one of the first, if not the first, to stand at the summit in late August 1873 and also guided the first woman to reach the summit in August 1878. Twenty years later, William Crapo’s character again appeared in a news item, but this time under less favorable circumstances. On January 5, 1893, the Inyo Register reports that Crapo had been charged with murdering the postmaster at Cerro Gordo. Apparently the murder was the result of a minor election dispute. Perhaps this Colt was the murder weapon. CONDITION: About good, bbl & cyl numbers as noted above. No orig finish remains being an overall mottled gray/brown patina with scattered surface rust and some fine pitting; cyl has some scattered nicks & dings and moderate pitting. Grips are sound showing heavy wear with a dark hand worn patina. Hammer will not hold in safety notch, otherwise mechanics are fine, strong bore with good rifling and very fine pitting. It is thought that the 4 guns in this order are the only examples of the DA frame application to the SAA revolver. 4-46363 JR194 (7,500-12,500)

Auction: Firearms - Fall 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
	1391	$7,475.00	EXTREMELY RARE & UNUSUAL COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY REVOLVER. SN 48487. Cal. 45 Colt. Unusual configuration with 7-1/2″ bbl with a rare special order silver front sight and 1-line small block letter address. It has 2nd type ejector housing with bull’s eye ejector rod head. Left side of frame has 2-line patent dates and left shoulder of trigger guard the caliber marking. Grip frame & grips are extremely unusual, resembling a Model 1878 DA revolver grip with a large hump at top of backstrap with rounded heel. SN was observed in the usual places on the frame, trigger guard & buttstrap with four digits of matching SN “8486” on bottom of bbl under ejector housing which is probably an assembler’s mistake. Cyl has the last three digits of SN “486”, the “6” has been overstamped with a “7”. Grips are equally unusual. They are highly figured, checkered walnut with matching hump near top back edges and a swelled heel area. Inside right grip is the pencil number “8” with balance of numbers obscured. The backstrap is engraved in period script “Mountaineer”. Accompanied by a Colt factory letter identifying this revolver in caliber 45 Colt, bbl length & type of stocks not listed, blue finish, under special features: “equipped with a silver sight 1/8″ higher than usual and stocks same as the double action”, shipped to William Crapo, address unavailable on June 10, 1878 in a 4-gun shipment. Also accompanied by a short note which is not related to this revolver, over the signature of “Wm. W. Crapo”. Additionally accompanied by a photograph purported to be of Mr. Crapo and two pictures of Mount Whitney in the Sierra Nevada Mtns of CA. The competition to be the first to climb Mount Whitney, at the time the highest peak in the United States, was fierce in the early 1870s. Crapo is said to have been one of the first, if not the first, to stand at the summit in late August 1873 and also guided the first woman to reach the summit in August 1878. Twenty years later, William Crapo’s character again appeared in a news item, but this time under less favorable circumstances. On January 5, 1893, the Inyo Register reports that Crapo had been charged with murdering the postmaster at Cerro Gordo. Apparently the murder was the result of a minor election dispute. Perhaps this Colt was the murder weapon. CONDITION: About good, bbl & cyl numbers as noted above. No orig finish remains being an overall mottled gray/brown patina with scattered surface rust and some fine pitting; cyl has some scattered nicks & dings and moderate pitting. Grips are sound showing heavy wear with a dark hand worn patina. Hammer will not hold in safety notch, otherwise mechanics are fine, strong bore with good rifling and very fine pitting. It is thought that the 4 guns in this order are the only examples of the DA frame application to the SAA revolver. 4-46363 JR194 (7,500-12,500) Auction: Firearms - Fall 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.

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