EXTREMELY RARE SMITH & WESSON 3RD MODEL RUSSIAN TURKISH CONTRACT SINGLE ACTION REVOLVER.

EXTREMELY RARE SMITH & WESSON 3RD MODEL RUSSIAN TURKISH CONTRACT SINGLE ACTION REVOLVER. SN 41381. Cal. 44 RF Henry. Blue & silver finish with 6-1/2″ ribbed keyhole shape bbl with integral half moon front sight and fixed rear sight in the bbl latch. Trigger guard has the integral finger rest hook on the bottom and it has a lanyard loop in the buttstrap. About 75-80% of the revolver is covered with fine silver damascening with gold plated screws. The orig walnut grips have absolutely fantastic silver wire inlays, the quality & degree of which is equal to the finest of the exquisite flintlock pistols also decorated for the Turkish market-elite and various officials in the 19th century. Right grip is numbered on the inside with the SN “41381”. The SN on buttstrap was obliterated during the damascening process. Right heel of the grip frame, under the grip is stamped with the assembly number “2022” which number is also found on the rear face of the cyl, bbl and bbl latch. Right side of the backstrap, under the grip is marked with the Arabic number “643” which was the numbering system used in Turkey until about 1920. The bbl address is also mostly obscured by the silver damascening. The top strap also has the large screw forward of the rear sight. This revolver is one of the more scarce & rare Turkish contract guns, in that the frame was originally manufactured as a centerfire frame but with the rush to production for the Turkish contract, Smith & Wesson was unable to forge rimfire frames in a timely manner so they simply used centerfire frames, plugged the firing pin hole and slotted the frame for the rimfire hammer. The Turks had placed an order for 7,000 revolvers of this model of which apparently only 5,000 were delivered. Accompanied by an orig, probably Turkish, soft doeskin-lined brown leather holster with brass closure tab & belt loop on the back, obviously crafted to complement the revolver at the time of its decoration. CONDITION: Fine to very fine. Overall retains about all of its extremely fine & intricate silver damascening and gold plated screws; the undecorated areas show strong orig blue indicating that this revolver was probably immediately removed from issue for the application of this decoration, probably for a high-ranking officer or government official; ; cyl retains about all of its fine silver damascening with blue in the flutes and the balance a mottled silver/gray patina; hammer retains dark case colors and the trigger guard is faded to silver. Grips are sound and retain all of their beautiful orig silver inlay. Mechanics are fine, bright shiny bore. Holster shows moderate wear with flexing and cracking to the surface finish and overall retains about 80% orig brown finish; interior is fine. 4-46296 JR204 (7,500-12,500)

Auction: Firearms - Fall 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
	2220	$0.00	EXTREMELY RARE SMITH & WESSON 3RD MODEL RUSSIAN TURKISH CONTRACT SINGLE ACTION REVOLVER. SN 41381. Cal. 44 RF Henry. Blue & silver finish with 6-1/2″ ribbed keyhole shape bbl with integral half moon front sight and fixed rear sight in the bbl latch. Trigger guard has the integral finger rest hook on the bottom and it has a lanyard loop in the buttstrap. About 75-80% of the revolver is covered with fine silver damascening with gold plated screws. The orig walnut grips have absolutely fantastic silver wire inlays, the quality & degree of which is equal to the finest of the exquisite flintlock pistols also decorated for the Turkish market-elite and various officials in the 19th century. Right grip is numbered on the inside with the SN “41381”. The SN on buttstrap was obliterated during the damascening process. Right heel of the grip frame, under the grip is stamped with the assembly number “2022” which number is also found on the rear face of the cyl, bbl and bbl latch. Right side of the backstrap, under the grip is marked with the Arabic number “643” which was the numbering system used in Turkey until about 1920. The bbl address is also mostly obscured by the silver damascening. The top strap also has the large screw forward of the rear sight. This revolver is one of the more scarce & rare Turkish contract guns, in that the frame was originally manufactured as a centerfire frame but with the rush to production for the Turkish contract, Smith & Wesson was unable to forge rimfire frames in a timely manner so they simply used centerfire frames, plugged the firing pin hole and slotted the frame for the rimfire hammer. The Turks had placed an order for 7,000 revolvers of this model of which apparently only 5,000 were delivered. Accompanied by an orig, probably Turkish, soft doeskin-lined brown leather holster with brass closure tab & belt loop on the back, obviously crafted to complement the revolver at the time of its decoration. CONDITION: Fine to very fine. Overall retains about all of its extremely fine & intricate silver damascening and gold plated screws; the undecorated areas show strong orig blue indicating that this revolver was probably immediately removed from issue for the application of this decoration, probably for a high-ranking officer or government official; ; cyl retains about all of its fine silver damascening with blue in the flutes and the balance a mottled silver/gray patina; hammer retains dark case colors and the trigger guard is faded to silver. Grips are sound and retain all of their beautiful orig silver inlay. Mechanics are fine, bright shiny bore. Holster shows moderate wear with flexing and cracking to the surface finish and overall retains about 80% orig brown finish; interior is fine. 4-46296 JR204 (7,500-12,500) Auction: Firearms - Fall 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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