INCREDIBLY UNIQUE PRESIDENT FRANKLIN PIERCE FROM COL. COLT PRESENTATION CASED COLT MODEL 1851 NAVY PERCUSSION REVOLVER.

INCREDIBLY UNIQUE PRESIDENT FRANKLIN PIERCE FROM COL. COLT PRESENTATION CASED COLT MODEL 1851 NAVY PERCUSSION REVOLVER. SN 5270. Cal. 36. Spectacular, unique and well documented Colt Model 1851 Navy revolver with 7-1/2″ oct bbl, brass mushroom pin front sight and 1-line New York City address. Left side of the frame has hand engraved “COLTS PATENT” and it is fitted with silver plated small oval brass trigger guard & back strap with spectacular deluxe, varnished, burl walnut, flame grain 1-pc grip with the matching serial number in the back strap channel. Frame, bbl & bbl lug, rammer pivot, hammer, back strap & trigger guard are beautifully engraved in pattern known as “Large Donut Scroll” with full coverage on the frame and recoil shields. Recoil shields have a wide triple border. Right recoil shield has a capping cutout without groove. Bbl & bbl lug have matching large foliate arabesque patterns with a most unusual and rare panel vignette on the right side of a 3-masted sailing ship under full sail with another sailing ship in port in the background. Left side of bbl lug has a round vignette of a fouled anchor. Top two side flats of bbl have matching foliate arabesque patterns with incised border lines around the address on top flat terminating in a leaf pattern. Muzzle & chamber ends of the bbl have border patterns with an anchor chain pattern at the left rear edge of bbl lug. Hammer is deluxe engraved to match with wolf’s head on each side of hammer nose and a very fine hand-cut knurled spur. Back strap has matching deep engraved patterns at top & heel with the center a rectangular panel with scalloped borders bearing the inscription “TO GENL FRANK PIERCE / from COL. COLT”. Butt strap & trigger guard are engraved with matching patterns and trigger guard flat has feather pattern borders. Shoulders of back strap & trigger guard are also engraved to match and all screwheads are engraved except the rammer screw which is probably an old replacement. Cylinder is usual 6-shot configuration with rolled Ormsby Naval battle scene that may have been hand enhanced. Accompanied by its orig blue velvet lined mahogany casing with shield shaped lock escutcheon for the mortised brass lock. Bottom is compartmented for the revolver, a wonderful “COLTS PATENT” angle spout Navy sized flask, a brass 2-cavity bullet mold with fire blued “COLTS PATENT” sprue cutter, a sealed tin of Eley’s caps with mottled paper wrapping and green & black label, an L-shaped nipple wrench/screwdriver and a rarely encountered wood handled nipple pick, occasionally seen in high grade presentation sets. Also accompanied by an NRA Silver Medallion, #100, which was awarded to this revolver on March 30, 1969 at the 98th Annual Meeting of the National Rifle Association in Washington, DC. The owner at that time was renowned firearms authority, Eric Vaule. Also accompanied by an American Society of Arms Collectors Medallion awarded to this wonderful Colt at the September 2008 meeting in Williamsburg, Virginia. Additionally accompanying is a Franklin Pierce Presidential pin-back which is a 2-1/8″ diameter button with the picture of General/President Franklin Pierce. Additionally accompanying is a large bronze rampant Colt statue awarded to this revolver at an annual Colt Society meeting & exhibit. Another accompaniment is a William Rogers sterling teaspoon with an embossed likeness of Franklin Pierce and his name on the handle with the inscription on a ribbon below his protrait “14th President 1853-1857”. Also accompanying is a modern made 31-star American flag commemorating the number of states in the Union when Franklin Pierce became President. And finally accompanying is a large binder of material on the life of Franklin Pierce, Congressman, U.S. Senator, Brigadier General of New Hampshire Volunteers in the Mexican War and 14th President of the United States (1804-1869). Franklin Pierce was born in 1804 in Hillsboro, New Hampshire, educated in New Hampshire and Bowdoin College in Maine where he formed a lifelong friendship with Nathaniel Hawthorne. Upon graduation in 1824 he studied law and was admitted to the Bar in 1827. He was a lifelong Democrat and became a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 1829 and was elected Speaker in 1831 & 1832. In 1833 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and in 1837 to the U.S. Senate. He resigned in 1842 before the completion of his term and returned to practicing law in Concord, NH where he became a federal district attorney. In 1845 he was offered several political positions including Governor of New Hampshire, an appointment to fill an unexpired term in the U.S. Senate and Attorney General in President Polk’s cabinet. He rejected all of these appointments. In 1846, shortly after the outbreak of war with Mexico, Mr. Pierce enlisted as a private but was soon appointed Colonel of the 9th Regiment and later Brigadier General of Volunteers. He served under Gen. Scott in the advance toward Mexico City where he was injured at the Battle of Contreras when he was thrown from his horse which had stepped into a hole and broken his leg. Despite the injury he continued in the fight. He remained in command of his unit and continued with Gen. Scott to the surrender of Mexico City. After the war he returned to his law practice. In 1852, at the Democratic Convention in Baltimore he was nominated for the Presidency and later was elected in a near landslide. During his Presidency he supported several controversial pieces of legislation that were sympathetic to the Southern slavery issue and became unpopular, even in his own party and was not renominated for a second term. Upon the expiration of his presidency he returned to New Hampshire to his law practice, never again to enter politics, and died Oct. 8, 1869 of cirrhosis of the liver. During his service in the Mexican War General/President Pierce became well acquainted with Colt’s new holster pistol, the Walker Model. He is recorded several times as having enthusiastically endorsed Colt’s revolver for the U.S. Military and apparently became well acquainted with Col. Colt himself. There are several recorded instances of communication between Col. Colt and Sen. Pierce and in 1848 Colt presented a Dragoon revolver to then Gen. Pierce. Sam Colt, ever the inveterate business man, presented this Model 1851 Navy revolver to Franklin Pierce on the very eve of his ascendancy to the President after having been nominated by the Democrat Party. The use of the familiar “Frank” in the presentation by Sam Colt gives plausibility to the closeness he shared with the soon to be President of the United States. A large portion of this information was extracted from a 10-page letter by noted author, researcher & historian, R.L. Wilson. He states in the last paragraph of page 10 that of the thirty-six men in history who have held the office of President of the United States, Franklin Pierce was the only one known to have been presented with a percussion Colt firearm and he was presented with two. The other being a Dragoon revolver being sold elsewhere in this auction. Also included in this binder of material is a signed letter to Mr. W.G.C. Kimball, Kimball Arms Co., Woburn, Mass., from John M. Stark of Concord, NH on his Attorney at Law letterhead dated March 31st, 1938, wherein he states “In regard to the Colt revolver which you purchased of me and its history, I will say that I am 52 years of age. My mother, the late Annie McNeil Stark, was a grand-niece of the late President Pierce. This revolver was given to Franklin Pierce by Colonel Colt. Franklin Pierce gave this revolver to my grandfather, John McNeil. My grandfather gave it to his daughter, Annie McNeil Stark. I can remember when I was about eight (8) years old of seeing this revolver at the house; and as my father and mother are both dead I cannot give you any further information.” The letter is accompanied by an envelope with the return franking of Murray G. Peterson of Marblehead, Mass. which is written on the face in ink “Identification of Colt No. 5270 Navy Model”. Also in this lot is a certified copy of the will of Franklin Pierce wherein he specifically bequeaths various items with the bulk of his estate going to his nephew, Frank Hawthorne Pierce, which may have included this Colt revolver. This binder also contains a copy of a photograph of Franklin Pierce along with numerous other references to his personal, political & military careers. This revolver is pictured in full color on p. 30 of the book Fine Colts The Dr. Joseph A. Murphy Collection, Wilson and is mentioned on p. 58 of The Colt Engraving Book, Wilson. It is also pictured in full color on p. 126 with a large writeup in The Book of Colt Firearms, Wilson. PROVENANCE: Murray G. Peterson Collection; Eric Vaule; Dr. Joseph A. Murphy Collection CONDITION: Very fine, all matching including wedge & grip. Bbl retains about 70-75% fading orig factory blue, strong in sheltered areas. Rammer & rammer handle retain faded case colors. Frame & hammer retain dark case colors with pitting on hammer nose. Cylinder is a blue/brown patina and retains about 80-85% Ormsby Naval Battle Scene. Trigger guard & back strap retain most of their heavy orig silver plating, slightly thin on heel. Grip is sound with light nicks & scratches showing light war and retains most of its piano varnish finish. Case has a slightly warped lid with usual storage & handling nicks & scratches and retains most of its orig varnish. Interior retains strong royal blue color with spots of fading around cylinder area and light damage from front sight. Flask is extremely fine retaining about 95% thinning orig finish with light tarnish on collar & spout. Mold is very fine with a few light dings on each side and retains about 90% bright fire blue on sprue cutter. Cap tin wrapping is nearly intact with only one or two minor losses and lightly faded label. Other accessories are fine. The accompanying medallions, bronze, spoon and pin-back are equally fine. 4-36412 JR101 (150,000-275,000)

Auction: Firearms - Spring 2009

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
	2010	$207,000.00	INCREDIBLY UNIQUE PRESIDENT FRANKLIN PIERCE FROM COL. COLT PRESENTATION CASED COLT MODEL 1851 NAVY PERCUSSION REVOLVER. SN 5270. Cal. 36. Spectacular, unique and well documented Colt Model 1851 Navy revolver with 7-1/2″ oct bbl, brass mushroom pin front sight and 1-line New York City address. Left side of the frame has hand engraved “COLTS PATENT” and it is fitted with silver plated small oval brass trigger guard & back strap with spectacular deluxe, varnished, burl walnut, flame grain 1-pc grip with the matching serial number in the back strap channel. Frame, bbl & bbl lug, rammer pivot, hammer, back strap & trigger guard are beautifully engraved in pattern known as “Large Donut Scroll” with full coverage on the frame and recoil shields. Recoil shields have a wide triple border. Right recoil shield has a capping cutout without groove. Bbl & bbl lug have matching large foliate arabesque patterns with a most unusual and rare panel vignette on the right side of a 3-masted sailing ship under full sail with another sailing ship in port in the background. Left side of bbl lug has a round vignette of a fouled anchor. Top two side flats of bbl have matching foliate arabesque patterns with incised border lines around the address on top flat terminating in a leaf pattern. Muzzle & chamber ends of the bbl have border patterns with an anchor chain pattern at the left rear edge of bbl lug. Hammer is deluxe engraved to match with wolf’s head on each side of hammer nose and a very fine hand-cut knurled spur. Back strap has matching deep engraved patterns at top & heel with the center a rectangular panel with scalloped borders bearing the inscription “TO GENL FRANK PIERCE / from COL. COLT”. Butt strap & trigger guard are engraved with matching patterns and trigger guard flat has feather pattern borders. Shoulders of back strap & trigger guard are also engraved to match and all screwheads are engraved except the rammer screw which is probably an old replacement. Cylinder is usual 6-shot configuration with rolled Ormsby Naval battle scene that may have been hand enhanced. Accompanied by its orig blue velvet lined mahogany casing with shield shaped lock escutcheon for the mortised brass lock. Bottom is compartmented for the revolver, a wonderful “COLTS PATENT” angle spout Navy sized flask, a brass 2-cavity bullet mold with fire blued “COLTS PATENT” sprue cutter, a sealed tin of Eley’s caps with mottled paper wrapping and green & black label, an L-shaped nipple wrench/screwdriver and a rarely encountered wood handled nipple pick, occasionally seen in high grade presentation sets. Also accompanied by an NRA Silver Medallion, #100, which was awarded to this revolver on March 30, 1969 at the 98th Annual Meeting of the National Rifle Association in Washington, DC. The owner at that time was renowned firearms authority, Eric Vaule. Also accompanied by an American Society of Arms Collectors Medallion awarded to this wonderful Colt at the September 2008 meeting in Williamsburg, Virginia. Additionally accompanying is a Franklin Pierce Presidential pin-back which is a 2-1/8″ diameter button with the picture of General/President Franklin Pierce. Additionally accompanying is a large bronze rampant Colt statue awarded to this revolver at an annual Colt Society meeting & exhibit. Another accompaniment is a William Rogers sterling teaspoon with an embossed likeness of Franklin Pierce and his name on the handle with the inscription on a ribbon below his protrait “14th President 1853-1857”. Also accompanying is a modern made 31-star American flag commemorating the number of states in the Union when Franklin Pierce became President. And finally accompanying is a large binder of material on the life of Franklin Pierce, Congressman, U.S. Senator, Brigadier General of New Hampshire Volunteers in the Mexican War and 14th President of the United States (1804-1869). Franklin Pierce was born in 1804 in Hillsboro, New Hampshire, educated in New Hampshire and Bowdoin College in Maine where he formed a lifelong friendship with Nathaniel Hawthorne. Upon graduation in 1824 he studied law and was admitted to the Bar in 1827. He was a lifelong Democrat and became a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 1829 and was elected Speaker in 1831 & 1832. In 1833 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and in 1837 to the U.S. Senate. He resigned in 1842 before the completion of his term and returned to practicing law in Concord, NH where he became a federal district attorney. In 1845 he was offered several political positions including Governor of New Hampshire, an appointment to fill an unexpired term in the U.S. Senate and Attorney General in President Polk’s cabinet. He rejected all of these appointments. In 1846, shortly after the outbreak of war with Mexico, Mr. Pierce enlisted as a private but was soon appointed Colonel of the 9th Regiment and later Brigadier General of Volunteers. He served under Gen. Scott in the advance toward Mexico City where he was injured at the Battle of Contreras when he was thrown from his horse which had stepped into a hole and broken his leg. Despite the injury he continued in the fight. He remained in command of his unit and continued with Gen. Scott to the surrender of Mexico City. After the war he returned to his law practice. In 1852, at the Democratic Convention in Baltimore he was nominated for the Presidency and later was elected in a near landslide. During his Presidency he supported several controversial pieces of legislation that were sympathetic to the Southern slavery issue and became unpopular, even in his own party and was not renominated for a second term. Upon the expiration of his presidency he returned to New Hampshire to his law practice, never again to enter politics, and died Oct. 8, 1869 of cirrhosis of the liver. During his service in the Mexican War General/President Pierce became well acquainted with Colt’s new holster pistol, the Walker Model. He is recorded several times as having enthusiastically endorsed Colt’s revolver for the U.S. Military and apparently became well acquainted with Col. Colt himself. There are several recorded instances of communication between Col. Colt and Sen. Pierce and in 1848 Colt presented a Dragoon revolver to then Gen. Pierce. Sam Colt, ever the inveterate business man, presented this Model 1851 Navy revolver to Franklin Pierce on the very eve of his ascendancy to the President after having been nominated by the Democrat Party. The use of the familiar “Frank” in the presentation by Sam Colt gives plausibility to the closeness he shared with the soon to be President of the United States. A large portion of this information was extracted from a 10-page letter by noted author, researcher & historian, R.L. Wilson. He states in the last paragraph of page 10 that of the thirty-six men in history who have held the office of President of the United States, Franklin Pierce was the only one known to have been presented with a percussion Colt firearm and he was presented with two. The other being a Dragoon revolver being sold elsewhere in this auction. Also included in this binder of material is a signed letter to Mr. W.G.C. Kimball, Kimball Arms Co., Woburn, Mass., from John M. Stark of Concord, NH on his Attorney at Law letterhead dated March 31st, 1938, wherein he states “In regard to the Colt revolver which you purchased of me and its history, I will say that I am 52 years of age. My mother, the late Annie McNeil Stark, was a grand-niece of the late President Pierce. This revolver was given to Franklin Pierce by Colonel Colt. Franklin Pierce gave this revolver to my grandfather, John McNeil. My grandfather gave it to his daughter, Annie McNeil Stark. I can remember when I was about eight (8) years old of seeing this revolver at the house; and as my father and mother are both dead I cannot give you any further information.” The letter is accompanied by an envelope with the return franking of Murray G. Peterson of Marblehead, Mass. which is written on the face in ink “Identification of Colt No. 5270 Navy Model”. Also in this lot is a certified copy of the will of Franklin Pierce wherein he specifically bequeaths various items with the bulk of his estate going to his nephew, Frank Hawthorne Pierce, which may have included this Colt revolver. This binder also contains a copy of a photograph of Franklin Pierce along with numerous other references to his personal, political & military careers. This revolver is pictured in full color on p. 30 of the book Fine Colts The Dr. Joseph A. Murphy Collection, Wilson and is mentioned on p. 58 of The Colt Engraving Book, Wilson. It is also pictured in full color on p. 126 with a large writeup in The Book of Colt Firearms, Wilson. PROVENANCE: Murray G. Peterson Collection; Eric Vaule; Dr. Joseph A. Murphy Collection CONDITION: Very fine, all matching including wedge & grip. Bbl retains about 70-75% fading orig factory blue, strong in sheltered areas. Rammer & rammer handle retain faded case colors. Frame & hammer retain dark case colors with pitting on hammer nose. Cylinder is a blue/brown patina and retains about 80-85% Ormsby Naval Battle Scene. Trigger guard & back strap retain most of their heavy orig silver plating, slightly thin on heel. Grip is sound with light nicks & scratches showing light war and retains most of its piano varnish finish. Case has a slightly warped lid with usual storage & handling nicks & scratches and retains most of its orig varnish. Interior retains strong royal blue color with spots of fading around cylinder area and light damage from front sight. Flask is extremely fine retaining about 95% thinning orig finish with light tarnish on collar & spout. Mold is very fine with a few light dings on each side and retains about 90% bright fire blue on sprue cutter. Cap tin wrapping is nearly intact with only one or two minor losses and lightly faded label. Other accessories are fine. The accompanying medallions, bronze, spoon and pin-back are equally fine. 4-36412 JR101 (150,000-275,000) Auction: Firearms - Spring 2009 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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