EXTRAORDINARY, FINEST OF ITS TYPE KNOWN IN THE WORLD, COLT RIMFIRE SINGLE ACTION ARMY REVOLVER.

EXTRAORDINARY, FINEST OF ITS TYPE KNOWN IN THE WORLD, COLT RIMFIRE SINGLE ACTION ARMY REVOLVER. SN 403. Cal. 44 RF Henry. Blue & color case hardened with 7-1/2″ bbl, full front sight and 1-line script letter address. Left side of frame has 2-line patent dates and left shoulder of trigger guard is marked “44 CAL”. Ejector housing is first type with bull’s eye ejector rod head and bottom of bbl has a tiny “44” just forward of base pin. Mounted with a varnished 1-pc walnut grip with SN in back strap channel. Cylinder is usual 6-shots with short chambers for the rimfire cartridge and has a tiny “C” on rear face. Base pin is orig with dimpled ends. Hammer has the rimfire nose secured with two rivets with a rectangular notch in the frame. Hammer spring is orig with no roller groove and toe of butt strap has the heavy bevel as does the front end of ejector housing. SN was observed in usual places on frame, trigger guard, butt strap, bottom of bbl under ejector housing and cyl. According to Flayderman’s Guide to Antique American Firearms and The Book of Colt Firearms, Wilson, there were about 1,800 of these rare revolvers produced in the period 1875-1880, which number also included 107 revolvers produced in caliber 22 utilizing 44 caliber frames. By the time these revolvers came to the market the centerfire cartridge was well established and very little demand for this ctg. was realized on the American market. Colt Firearms, being the enterprising company that it was, and seeing the declining market for rimfire ctg. arms, promoted these revolvers to areas of the world where the Henry & Winchester Model 1866 firearms were still in popular use. Therefore the vast majority of the factory rimfire revolvers were sold throughout Mexico and South & Central America. Of those, the vast majority were routinely altered in various manners, usually having their bbls shortened. In addition they saw hard & continuous service in every conceivable climatic condition with little or no maintenance and are rarely found today with any orig finish or grip let alone high orig finish. This revolver, by all accounts of some of the most notable & authoritative Colt Single Action dealers & collectors, is the single finest rimfire single action extant. PROVENANCE: George Lewis Collection; Fred Sweeney Collection; John Henry Hill Collection; Wes Adams Collection; David Kinsey Collection CONDITION: Extraordinarily fine, all matching including bbl, cyl & grip. Bbl retains 96-97% glossy orig factory blue with slight muzzle edge wear and some very minor, very light flaking. Ejector housing retains 95-96% glossy orig blue, thin around front edge and with some minor flaking. Frame & hammer retain virtually all of their crisp, brilliant orig factory case colors with only light fading on the left recoil shield & loading gate. Top edge of hammer is lightly faded. Trigger guard retains about 92-93% glossy orig blue with front strap moderately flaked with some candy striping. Back strap retains about 85% orig factory blue, glossy & bright at top and mostly on butt strap. Center of back strap is somewhat thin with candy striping. Cyl retains about 90% glossy orig blue, strong & bright in flutes with some fine spots of rust, lightly flaked on outer diameter. Grip is sound with a very few, very minor light nicks & scratches and retains virtually all of its brilliant orig factory varnish. Mechanics are crisp, brilliant shiny bore with two small spots of pitting. Revolver appears to have been fired, possibly one cyl full with some light rust on cyl face. Chambers of cyl retain most of their strong orig factory blue with some light flaking. Bore also retains most of its orig factory blue. Screws are crisp and retain about all of their bright orig factory blue. This is a truly extraordinary opportunity to own the single finest known rimfire single action in the world. 4-36667 JR59 (175,000-275,000)

Auction: Firearms - Fall 2011

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
	2061	$201,250.00	EXTRAORDINARY, FINEST OF ITS TYPE KNOWN IN THE WORLD, COLT RIMFIRE SINGLE ACTION ARMY REVOLVER. SN 403. Cal. 44 RF Henry. Blue & color case hardened with 7-1/2″ bbl, full front sight and 1-line script letter address. Left side of frame has 2-line patent dates and left shoulder of trigger guard is marked “44 CAL”. Ejector housing is first type with bull’s eye ejector rod head and bottom of bbl has a tiny “44” just forward of base pin. Mounted with a varnished 1-pc walnut grip with SN in back strap channel. Cylinder is usual 6-shots with short chambers for the rimfire cartridge and has a tiny “C” on rear face. Base pin is orig with dimpled ends. Hammer has the rimfire nose secured with two rivets with a rectangular notch in the frame. Hammer spring is orig with no roller groove and toe of butt strap has the heavy bevel as does the front end of ejector housing. SN was observed in usual places on frame, trigger guard, butt strap, bottom of bbl under ejector housing and cyl. According to Flayderman’s Guide to Antique American Firearms and The Book of Colt Firearms, Wilson, there were about 1,800 of these rare revolvers produced in the period 1875-1880, which number also included 107 revolvers produced in caliber 22 utilizing 44 caliber frames. By the time these revolvers came to the market the centerfire cartridge was well established and very little demand for this ctg. was realized on the American market. Colt Firearms, being the enterprising company that it was, and seeing the declining market for rimfire ctg. arms, promoted these revolvers to areas of the world where the Henry & Winchester Model 1866 firearms were still in popular use. Therefore the vast majority of the factory rimfire revolvers were sold throughout Mexico and South & Central America. Of those, the vast majority were routinely altered in various manners, usually having their bbls shortened. In addition they saw hard & continuous service in every conceivable climatic condition with little or no maintenance and are rarely found today with any orig finish or grip let alone high orig finish. This revolver, by all accounts of some of the most notable & authoritative Colt Single Action dealers & collectors, is the single finest rimfire single action extant. PROVENANCE: George Lewis Collection; Fred Sweeney Collection; John Henry Hill Collection; Wes Adams Collection; David Kinsey Collection CONDITION: Extraordinarily fine, all matching including bbl, cyl & grip. Bbl retains 96-97% glossy orig factory blue with slight muzzle edge wear and some very minor, very light flaking. Ejector housing retains 95-96% glossy orig blue, thin around front edge and with some minor flaking. Frame & hammer retain virtually all of their crisp, brilliant orig factory case colors with only light fading on the left recoil shield & loading gate. Top edge of hammer is lightly faded. Trigger guard retains about 92-93% glossy orig blue with front strap moderately flaked with some candy striping. Back strap retains about 85% orig factory blue, glossy & bright at top and mostly on butt strap. Center of back strap is somewhat thin with candy striping. Cyl retains about 90% glossy orig blue, strong & bright in flutes with some fine spots of rust, lightly flaked on outer diameter. Grip is sound with a very few, very minor light nicks & scratches and retains virtually all of its brilliant orig factory varnish. Mechanics are crisp, brilliant shiny bore with two small spots of pitting. Revolver appears to have been fired, possibly one cyl full with some light rust on cyl face. Chambers of cyl retain most of their strong orig factory blue with some light flaking. Bore also retains most of its orig factory blue. Screws are crisp and retain about all of their bright orig factory blue. This is a truly extraordinary opportunity to own the single finest known rimfire single action in the world. 4-36667 JR59 (175,000-275,000) Auction: Firearms - Fall 2011 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.

.red{fill:#B50938;} .white{fill:#FFFFFF;} .blue{fill:#005596;}