FINE FACTORY ENGRAVED CASED COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY REVOLVER.

FINE FACTORY ENGRAVED CASED COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY REVOLVER. SN 53371. Cal. 45 Boxer. Nickel finish with blued screws and 5-1/2″ bbl, full front sight and 1-line Hartford/Pall Mall London address. Mounted with factory orig 1-pc pearl grip made with two slabs of pearl attached to wooden blocks to create the 1-pc configuration. Bottom of bbl has the last four digits of SN under ejector housing and also on the outer diameter of the cyl. Bottom of bbl & cyl also have tiny British proofs. Left side of frame has 3-line patent dates and left front web of trigger guard is marked “45 CAL / B”. Engraving is in New York style by master engraver L.D. Nimschke or one of the craftsmen in his shop. Engraving consists of nearly full coverage on the frame of foliate arabesque patterns with fine punch dot background. Top strap & sides of bbl are engraved to match. Bbl boss on each side is engraved in foliate & floral patterns with a foliate pattern in left side gullet. Ejector housing is engraved to match with a snake & dot pattern in top gullet. Hammer is engraved in foliate arabesque patterns on sides with a foliate spray on top of the hammer nose. Top of back strap and loading gate are engraved in Mr. Nimschke’s distinctive sunflower pattern with fine punch dot background. Backstrap is engraved with foliate arabesque patterns at top & heel with dash & dot border patterns. Buttstrap is engraved in geometric patterns and trigger guard with foliate arabesque patterns. Cyl is engraved with foliate arabesque patterns on lands between the flutes with simple geometric patterns in the flutes. Rear edge of cyl is engraved with a wide feather pattern band and a very fine zig zag band at rear edge. Accompanied by its orig English oak casing with empty rectangular silver plate in the lid. It is lined in green felt with a Pall Mall address label inside the lid. Bottom is compartmented for the revolver and a pewter top glass oil bottle with an oak cartridge block for twenty-eight 45 caliber cartridges containing 27 Eley & Kynoch cartridges. Right rear covered compartment is empty with a steel cleaning rod in the rear edge. Also accompanied by a functioning case key. According to Colt Peacemaker Encyclopedia, Cochran, there were a total of 4,738 Single Action Army revolvers produced in British calibers of which only 729 were in 450 Boxer caliber. Of those very likely only a small handful were American engraved and an even fewer number were cased. Accompanied by a Colt Factory letter identifying revolver as: .45 Eley, nickel finish, pearl stock, factory engraved, with Special Notation “Short Barrel”, shipped to Colt’s Patent Fire-Arms Mfg. Co, London Agency, London England, January 22, 1880 with 10 guns of same type in this shipment. PROVENANCE: Tony Smith (2004); Robert Howard Estate Collection. CONDITION: Very fine, all matching except grip which is unnumbered. Overall retains 75-80% strong orig nickel with the loss areas a gray metal color. There is some fine, light pitting around forcing cone area and front edge of frame. Most of losses are from flaking rather than wear. Cyl retains about 90% orig nickel with some very fine pitting on front face. Trigger guard retains most of its orig nickel with front strap lightly flaked. Back strap is a cleaned gray metal patina with some fine pitting at the heel. Grip is sound showing great fire & color. Mechanics are crisp, strong bright bore with a few small spots of pinprick pitting. Case has a few grain checks in the bottom and a couple of fine grain checks in lid and overall retains most of its orig varnish with a few light handling & storage marks. Interior is moderately faded with the label turned yellow. Bottom interior is moderately soiled with some chemical staining to the felt. Oil bottle, cleaning rod & ammunition are fine. 4-45256 JR51 (15,000-25,000)

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
	1539	$32,200.00	FINE FACTORY ENGRAVED CASED COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY REVOLVER. SN 53371. Cal. 45 Boxer. Nickel finish with blued screws and 5-1/2″ bbl, full front sight and 1-line Hartford/Pall Mall London address. Mounted with factory orig 1-pc pearl grip made with two slabs of pearl attached to wooden blocks to create the 1-pc configuration. Bottom of bbl has the last four digits of SN under ejector housing and also on the outer diameter of the cyl. Bottom of bbl & cyl also have tiny British proofs. Left side of frame has 3-line patent dates and left front web of trigger guard is marked “45 CAL / B”. Engraving is in New York style by master engraver L.D. Nimschke or one of the craftsmen in his shop. Engraving consists of nearly full coverage on the frame of foliate arabesque patterns with fine punch dot background. Top strap & sides of bbl are engraved to match. Bbl boss on each side is engraved in foliate & floral patterns with a foliate pattern in left side gullet. Ejector housing is engraved to match with a snake & dot pattern in top gullet. Hammer is engraved in foliate arabesque patterns on sides with a foliate spray on top of the hammer nose. Top of back strap and loading gate are engraved in Mr. Nimschke’s distinctive sunflower pattern with fine punch dot background. Backstrap is engraved with foliate arabesque patterns at top & heel with dash & dot border patterns. Buttstrap is engraved in geometric patterns and trigger guard with foliate arabesque patterns. Cyl is engraved with foliate arabesque patterns on lands between the flutes with simple geometric patterns in the flutes. Rear edge of cyl is engraved with a wide feather pattern band and a very fine zig zag band at rear edge. Accompanied by its orig English oak casing with empty rectangular silver plate in the lid. It is lined in green felt with a Pall Mall address label inside the lid. Bottom is compartmented for the revolver and a pewter top glass oil bottle with an oak cartridge block for twenty-eight 45 caliber cartridges containing 27 Eley & Kynoch cartridges. Right rear covered compartment is empty with a steel cleaning rod in the rear edge. Also accompanied by a functioning case key. According to Colt Peacemaker Encyclopedia, Cochran, there were a total of 4,738 Single Action Army revolvers produced in British calibers of which only 729 were in 450 Boxer caliber. Of those very likely only a small handful were American engraved and an even fewer number were cased. Accompanied by a Colt Factory letter identifying revolver as: .45 Eley, nickel finish, pearl stock, factory engraved, with Special Notation “Short Barrel”, shipped to Colt’s Patent Fire-Arms Mfg. Co, London Agency, London England, January 22, 1880 with 10 guns of same type in this shipment. PROVENANCE: Tony Smith (2004); Robert Howard Estate Collection. CONDITION: Very fine, all matching except grip which is unnumbered. Overall retains 75-80% strong orig nickel with the loss areas a gray metal color. There is some fine, light pitting around forcing cone area and front edge of frame. Most of losses are from flaking rather than wear. Cyl retains about 90% orig nickel with some very fine pitting on front face. Trigger guard retains most of its orig nickel with front strap lightly flaked. Back strap is a cleaned gray metal patina with some fine pitting at the heel. Grip is sound showing great fire & color. Mechanics are crisp, strong bright bore with a few small spots of pinprick pitting. Case has a few grain checks in the bottom and a couple of fine grain checks in lid and overall retains most of its orig varnish with a few light handling & storage marks. Interior is moderately faded with the label turned yellow. Bottom interior is moderately soiled with some chemical staining to the felt. Oil bottle, cleaning rod & ammunition are fine. 4-45256 JR51 (15,000-25,000) 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.

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