EXTRAORDINARY HENRY NETTLETON INSPECTED COLT CAVALRY SINGLE ACTION ARMY REVOLVER.

EXTRAORDINARY HENRY NETTLETON INSPECTED COLT CAVALRY SINGLE ACTION ARMY REVOLVER. SN 48867. Cal. 45 Colt. Blue & color case hardened with 7-1/2″ bbl, full front sight and 1-line block letter address. Left side of frame has 3-line patent dates and “US”. Mounted with 1-pc walnut grip with matching last four digits of SN in backstrap channel. Left side of grip is stamped with the “JEG” (Capt. John E. Greer) cartouche under the date “1878”. Right grip has the “HN” (Henry Nettleton) sub-inspector cartouche and bottom right edge of grip has the “HN” initials which are also found on bottom of bbl, bottom of frame, trigger guard, top of backstrap, cyl and left side of hammer. Ejector housing is 2nd type with bull’s eye ejector rod head and it has an orig base pin with dimpled ends. This revolver was manufactured in 1878 during the height of the Indian Wars and revolvers of this period are rarely found in orig configuration with high orig finish. They were usually issued to front line cavalry units where they saw hard frontier service under harsh conditions with limited maintenance. Obviously this revolver was not so used and was either issued to a high ranking officer who never carried it or an official who never carried it, or it remained in a state militia armory until sold as surplus. Regardless it escaped the recalls of the 1890s and early 20th century where a large number of cavalry revolvers were converted to artillery configuration with 5-1/2″ bbls. Accompanied by a 2-page letter from renowned Colt historian, author & collector, John Kopec, wherein he certifies the authenticity and originality of this revolver to be “totally correct in all respects” and corroborates most of the above information. PROVENANCE: Wes Adams Estate Collection. CONDITION: Extremely fine plus, all matching including cyl & grip; bbl retains 96-97% strong, bright, orig, factory blue with only light muzzle edge wear and a small thin spot on left side; it retains strong “feathers” on both sides of front sight and ejector housing stud; frame & hammer retain about all of their exceptionally bright case colors, slightly faded on recoil shield & loading gate and top edge of hammer; trigger guard retains about all of its orig factory blue with a scratch & a couple of candy stripes on frontstrap; backstrap retains about all of its strong orig blue with slight wear on heel; cyl retains about 90-92% strong orig blue with the loss areas flaked, not worn, to a medium patina, with slight sharp edge wear and a light cyl line; ejector housing retains 97-98% strong orig blue; grip is sound with a couple of minor nicks & scratches and retains virtually all of its orig finish. Mechanics are crisp, brilliant shiny bore; may have been fired but if so, very little; bore retains most of its orig blue as does the chambers in the cylinder. 4-44680 JR345 (50,000-80,000)

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
	2163	$71,875.00	EXTRAORDINARY HENRY NETTLETON INSPECTED COLT CAVALRY SINGLE ACTION ARMY REVOLVER. SN 48867. Cal. 45 Colt. Blue & color case hardened with 7-1/2″ bbl, full front sight and 1-line block letter address. Left side of frame has 3-line patent dates and “US”. Mounted with 1-pc walnut grip with matching last four digits of SN in backstrap channel. Left side of grip is stamped with the “JEG” (Capt. John E. Greer) cartouche under the date “1878”. Right grip has the “HN” (Henry Nettleton) sub-inspector cartouche and bottom right edge of grip has the “HN” initials which are also found on bottom of bbl, bottom of frame, trigger guard, top of backstrap, cyl and left side of hammer. Ejector housing is 2nd type with bull’s eye ejector rod head and it has an orig base pin with dimpled ends. This revolver was manufactured in 1878 during the height of the Indian Wars and revolvers of this period are rarely found in orig configuration with high orig finish. They were usually issued to front line cavalry units where they saw hard frontier service under harsh conditions with limited maintenance. Obviously this revolver was not so used and was either issued to a high ranking officer who never carried it or an official who never carried it, or it remained in a state militia armory until sold as surplus. Regardless it escaped the recalls of the 1890s and early 20th century where a large number of cavalry revolvers were converted to artillery configuration with 5-1/2″ bbls. Accompanied by a 2-page letter from renowned Colt historian, author & collector, John Kopec, wherein he certifies the authenticity and originality of this revolver to be “totally correct in all respects” and corroborates most of the above information. PROVENANCE: Wes Adams Estate Collection. CONDITION: Extremely fine plus, all matching including cyl & grip; bbl retains 96-97% strong, bright, orig, factory blue with only light muzzle edge wear and a small thin spot on left side; it retains strong “feathers” on both sides of front sight and ejector housing stud; frame & hammer retain about all of their exceptionally bright case colors, slightly faded on recoil shield & loading gate and top edge of hammer; trigger guard retains about all of its orig factory blue with a scratch & a couple of candy stripes on frontstrap; backstrap retains about all of its strong orig blue with slight wear on heel; cyl retains about 90-92% strong orig blue with the loss areas flaked, not worn, to a medium patina, with slight sharp edge wear and a light cyl line; ejector housing retains 97-98% strong orig blue; grip is sound with a couple of minor nicks & scratches and retains virtually all of its orig finish. Mechanics are crisp, brilliant shiny bore; may have been fired but if so, very little; bore retains most of its orig blue as does the chambers in the cylinder. 4-44680 JR345 (50,000-80,000) 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.

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