EXTREMELY RARE ENGRAVED PRESENTATION COLT MODEL 1855 FULL STOCK SPORTING REVOLVING RIFLE.

EXTREMELY RARE ENGRAVED PRESENTATION COLT MODEL 1855 FULL STOCK SPORTING REVOLVING RIFLE. SN 2. Cal. 44. An unusual rifle with features of both the military rifle musket & full stock sporting rifle with 31-5/16″ rnd bbl, dovetail German silver front sight and 3-leaf, two folding, one standing, rear sight graduated 100, 300 & 600 yards. Mounted with extremely fancy, flame grain, checkered butt stock with cheek piece and crescent steel buttplate with trap containing the cleaning rod tip. Cheek piece has a 1-1/2″ x 7/8″ blank silver oval inlay. It has a full length forestock with two bands and its orig knurled head cleaning rod. Middle band & bottom tang have sling loops. Trigger guard has the sporting rifle style “ears” front & back. The bbl, just in front of the octagonal transition, is engraved in period Olde English and script “Presented to / Hon. John B. Floyd / Secretary of War / by the workmen of / Col. Colts Armory / Hartford Ct.” Top strap is engraved “Col. Colts Patent”. The sides of receiver, top strap, octagonal transition of bbl, top & bottom tangs, trigger guard, bottom of receiver, buttplate tang, web of the rammer handle & hammer are beautifully engraved in extremely fine Gustave Young intertwined foliate arabesque patterns with a couple of small flower blossoms at the terminus of a couple of the patterns. The outside raised areas of the fluted cylinder are matching engraved with tiny border patterns at the front & rear edges. The rammer handle has a pattern of very fine checkering found only on the most deluxe engraved Colts. The engraving as found on this rifle represents the very finest of Mr. Young’s extreme skill as befitting a presentation to a very high government official. The serial number was observed on bottom of frame, on bottom tang & toe of buttplate. No further disassembly was affected to check for other matching numbers. CONDITION: Fine to very fine. Bbl retains about 70-75% glossy orig blue with a few chemical spots between middle & upper bands and a lightly cleaned area over engraved presentation. Receiver retains about 80% orig blue, somewhat thin over top & bottom. Top tang retains traces of orig blue, as does the hammer. Bottom tang is mostly a gray metal color as is the buttplate. Rammer handle retains bright case colors in sheltered areas, more faded on handle. Forestock is sound with a small gouge and light nicks & scratches and retains about 90% orig varnish. Butt stock has an extremely fine professionally repaired crack through wrist and retains most of its strong orig varnish with a series of light scratches on right side and a few on cheekpiece. Hand spring appears to be broken or missing but is functional, otherwise mechanics are fine. Brilliant shiny bore, probably unfired. 4-31740 JR168 (30,000-60,000)

Auction: Firearms - Spring 2008

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
	1154	$126,500.00	EXTREMELY RARE ENGRAVED PRESENTATION COLT MODEL 1855 FULL STOCK SPORTING REVOLVING RIFLE. SN 2. Cal. 44. An unusual rifle with features of both the military rifle musket & full stock sporting rifle with 31-5/16″ rnd bbl, dovetail German silver front sight and 3-leaf, two folding, one standing, rear sight graduated 100, 300 & 600 yards. Mounted with extremely fancy, flame grain, checkered butt stock with cheek piece and crescent steel buttplate with trap containing the cleaning rod tip. Cheek piece has a 1-1/2″ x 7/8″ blank silver oval inlay. It has a full length forestock with two bands and its orig knurled head cleaning rod. Middle band & bottom tang have sling loops. Trigger guard has the sporting rifle style “ears” front & back. The bbl, just in front of the octagonal transition, is engraved in period Olde English and script “Presented to / Hon. John B. Floyd / Secretary of War / by the workmen of / Col. Colts Armory / Hartford Ct.” Top strap is engraved “Col. Colts Patent”. The sides of receiver, top strap, octagonal transition of bbl, top & bottom tangs, trigger guard, bottom of receiver, buttplate tang, web of the rammer handle & hammer are beautifully engraved in extremely fine Gustave Young intertwined foliate arabesque patterns with a couple of small flower blossoms at the terminus of a couple of the patterns. The outside raised areas of the fluted cylinder are matching engraved with tiny border patterns at the front & rear edges. The rammer handle has a pattern of very fine checkering found only on the most deluxe engraved Colts. The engraving as found on this rifle represents the very finest of Mr. Young’s extreme skill as befitting a presentation to a very high government official. The serial number was observed on bottom of frame, on bottom tang & toe of buttplate. No further disassembly was affected to check for other matching numbers. CONDITION: Fine to very fine. Bbl retains about 70-75% glossy orig blue with a few chemical spots between middle & upper bands and a lightly cleaned area over engraved presentation. Receiver retains about 80% orig blue, somewhat thin over top & bottom. Top tang retains traces of orig blue, as does the hammer. Bottom tang is mostly a gray metal color as is the buttplate. Rammer handle retains bright case colors in sheltered areas, more faded on handle. Forestock is sound with a small gouge and light nicks & scratches and retains about 90% orig varnish. Butt stock has an extremely fine professionally repaired crack through wrist and retains most of its strong orig varnish with a series of light scratches on right side and a few on cheekpiece. Hand spring appears to be broken or missing but is functional, otherwise mechanics are fine. Brilliant shiny bore, probably unfired. 4-31740 JR168 (30,000-60,000) Auction: Firearms - Spring 2008 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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