RARE COLT MODEL 1871-1872 OPEN TOP SINGLE ACTION REVOLVER.

SN 1766. Cal. 44 RF. Blue finish with 7-1/2″ rnd bbl, nickel silver front sight and 1-line New-York U.S. America address with dashes. Top rear of bbl, over the forcing cone has an integral, V-notch rear sight. Right side of bbl lug has an attached ejector with bullseye ejector rod head. Left side of frame has the 1871 and 1872 patent dates. Hammer nose was altered by having the firing pin attached to the left side with two rivets. Loading gate in the right recoil shield has an external spring and the assembly number “790”, which is also found on the cyl spindle. The blued steel trigger guard & back strap contain an Army-sized varnished 1-pc walnut grip with matching SN in back strap channel. There were about 7,000 of these revolvers produced 1872-1873 with new-made bbls and frames. Some frames, however, had the “COLTS PATENT” over-stamped by the patent dates. This apparently is one of the orig frames and is without the “44 CAL” marking on left shoulder of trigger guard. This model was the immediate predecessor to the venerable Colt Single Action Army Model of 1873. During their short production run they were widely distributed and very popular on the American Frontier. However, when the centerfire cartridge revolvers came on the market they quickly lost favor to the solid frame of the new revolvers. The majority of them wound up in Mexico where they saw very hard service. They frequently had their bbls cut and are rarely found today in orig configuration with orig finish, especially those with orig blue finish. After having examined many of these revolvers over the years it is this catalogers conclusion that there were far more revolvers of this model with nickel finish than with blue and it is very rare to find a blued revolver with orig finish. CONDITION: Very fine, all matching except wedge which is properly unnumbered. Bbl retains 60-70% strong orig blue turning brown with some freckles of rust over the top; ejector housing is mostly a mottled brown patina; frame retains about all of its orig case colors, turning dark; hammer retains strong case colors on sides and rear edge turned silver on top; trigger guard retains blue on the trigger plate with the front strap, back strap, butt strap & trigger bow a gray metal patina. Grip is sound showing moderate edge wear with a few nicks & dings and retains about 88-90% orig varnish; cyl retains about 60% thin orig blue and shows about 90% Ormsby Naval battle scene roll marking; front edge of cyl has a ding over one chamber. Mechanics are crisp, brilliant shiny bore; shows very little use. 4-55318 JR294 (15,000-25,000) – Lot 1318

Auction: Firearms - March 2015

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
	1318	$17,250.00	RARE COLT MODEL 1871-1872 OPEN TOP SINGLE ACTION REVOLVER. SN 1766. Cal. 44 RF. Blue finish with 7-1/2″ rnd bbl, nickel silver front sight and 1-line New-York U.S. America address with dashes. Top rear of bbl, over the forcing cone has an integral, V-notch rear sight. Right side of bbl lug has an attached ejector with bullseye ejector rod head. Left side of frame has the 1871 and 1872 patent dates. Hammer nose was altered by having the firing pin attached to the left side with two rivets. Loading gate in the right recoil shield has an external spring and the assembly number “790”, which is also found on the cyl spindle. The blued steel trigger guard & back strap contain an Army-sized varnished 1-pc walnut grip with matching SN in back strap channel. There were about 7,000 of these revolvers produced 1872-1873 with new-made bbls and frames. Some frames, however, had the “COLTS PATENT” over-stamped by the patent dates. This apparently is one of the orig frames and is without the “44 CAL” marking on left shoulder of trigger guard. This model was the immediate predecessor to the venerable Colt Single Action Army Model of 1873. During their short production run they were widely distributed and very popular on the American Frontier. However, when the centerfire cartridge revolvers came on the market they quickly lost favor to the solid frame of the new revolvers. The majority of them wound up in Mexico where they saw very hard service. They frequently had their bbls cut and are rarely found today in orig configuration with orig finish, especially those with orig blue finish. After having examined many of these revolvers over the years it is this catalogers conclusion that there were far more revolvers of this model with nickel finish than with blue and it is very rare to find a blued revolver with orig finish. CONDITION: Very fine, all matching except wedge which is properly unnumbered. Bbl retains 60-70% strong orig blue turning brown with some freckles of rust over the top; ejector housing is mostly a mottled brown patina; frame retains about all of its orig case colors, turning dark; hammer retains strong case colors on sides and rear edge turned silver on top; trigger guard retains blue on the trigger plate with the front strap, back strap, butt strap & trigger bow a gray metal patina. Grip is sound showing moderate edge wear with a few nicks & dings and retains about 88-90% orig varnish; cyl retains about 60% thin orig blue and shows about 90% Ormsby Naval battle scene roll marking; front edge of cyl has a ding over one chamber. Mechanics are crisp, brilliant shiny bore; shows very little use. 4-55318 JR294 (15,000-25,000) – Lot 1318 Auction: Firearms - March 2015 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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RARE COLT MODEL 1871-1872 OPEN TOP SINGLE ACTION REVOLVER.