PRESENTATION COLT MODEL 1851 NAVY PERCUSSION REVOLVER.

PRESENTATION COLT MODEL 1851 NAVY PERCUSSION REVOLVER. SN 103618. Cal. 36. Blue & color case hardened with 7-1/2″ oct bbl, brass pin front sight and 1-line New-York U.S. America address. Left side of frame is marked “COLTS PATENT”. The silver plated brass trigger guard & backstrap is mounted with a 1-pc walnut grip with last four digits of SN in backstrap channel. Cyl is usual 6-shots with Ormsby Naval battle scene roll marking and all six safety pins serviceable. SN was observed on bottom of bbl lug, frame, trigger guard, buttstrap & cylinder. Last four digits of SN are on the rammer handle & cyl spindle with five digits of SN on wedge. Backstrap is engraved in period script “Melzar Dunbar, Jr. / From his Friends, May 1st 1861”. Mr. Dunbar mustered in as a 1st Lieutenant in Company B, Mass 11th Infantry on June 13, 1861. He resigned his commission and was discharged on Sept. 7, 1861 due to a continuing back injury. He apparently attempted to re-enlist and was commissioned Captain in Company F Mass 47th Infantry on Oct. 9, 1862 but his commission was cancelled and he was discharged on Nov. 24, 1862. While he was in the Army, on his first enlistment his unit fought in the Battle of First Bull Run on July 21, 1861, where the 11th Massachusetts had one officer and seven enlisted men killed, two officers and thirty-eight enlisted men wounded with the same number of officers and enlisted men missing. Following the fight at Bull Run his unit was stationed at Bladensburg, Maryland where it was assigned picket duty on the Potomac. By the time the unit was reassigned on Oct. 1st, Lt. Dunbar had already been discharged. Although Lt. Dunbar did not have an exemplary Civil War record, he was a legitimate Army officer and the presentation is genuine. CONDITION: Very good, all matching including wedge, cyl & grip; bbl retains 30-40% flaked orig blue, being mostly a very dark attic patina with one small cleaned spot on left flat at the muzzle; rammer handle retains strong case colors throughout with some light surface spotting; frame retains faded case colors on the sides & recoil shields; cyl retains 20-30% blue having flaked, not worn, to a blue/brown patina with one spot of heavy rust and some scattered pinpricks of rust and overall shows about 80% Ormsby Naval battle scene; trigger guard & backstrap retain virtually all of their orig silver plating, oxidized to black on the trigger guard & trigger plate, at the top of the backstrap and on the buttstrap; grip is sound with some battering on bottom edges and moderate wear on sharp edges with a few nicks & dings and retains most of its orig varnish; wedge screw is missing; mechanics are fine, bright shiny bore with a few spots of pitting. 4-45189 JR484 (5,000-7,000)

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
	2259	$6,325.00	PRESENTATION COLT MODEL 1851 NAVY PERCUSSION REVOLVER. SN 103618. Cal. 36. Blue & color case hardened with 7-1/2″ oct bbl, brass pin front sight and 1-line New-York U.S. America address. Left side of frame is marked “COLTS PATENT”. The silver plated brass trigger guard & backstrap is mounted with a 1-pc walnut grip with last four digits of SN in backstrap channel. Cyl is usual 6-shots with Ormsby Naval battle scene roll marking and all six safety pins serviceable. SN was observed on bottom of bbl lug, frame, trigger guard, buttstrap & cylinder. Last four digits of SN are on the rammer handle & cyl spindle with five digits of SN on wedge. Backstrap is engraved in period script “Melzar Dunbar, Jr. / From his Friends, May 1st 1861”. Mr. Dunbar mustered in as a 1st Lieutenant in Company B, Mass 11th Infantry on June 13, 1861. He resigned his commission and was discharged on Sept. 7, 1861 due to a continuing back injury. He apparently attempted to re-enlist and was commissioned Captain in Company F Mass 47th Infantry on Oct. 9, 1862 but his commission was cancelled and he was discharged on Nov. 24, 1862. While he was in the Army, on his first enlistment his unit fought in the Battle of First Bull Run on July 21, 1861, where the 11th Massachusetts had one officer and seven enlisted men killed, two officers and thirty-eight enlisted men wounded with the same number of officers and enlisted men missing. Following the fight at Bull Run his unit was stationed at Bladensburg, Maryland where it was assigned picket duty on the Potomac. By the time the unit was reassigned on Oct. 1st, Lt. Dunbar had already been discharged. Although Lt. Dunbar did not have an exemplary Civil War record, he was a legitimate Army officer and the presentation is genuine. CONDITION: Very good, all matching including wedge, cyl & grip; bbl retains 30-40% flaked orig blue, being mostly a very dark attic patina with one small cleaned spot on left flat at the muzzle; rammer handle retains strong case colors throughout with some light surface spotting; frame retains faded case colors on the sides & recoil shields; cyl retains 20-30% blue having flaked, not worn, to a blue/brown patina with one spot of heavy rust and some scattered pinpricks of rust and overall shows about 80% Ormsby Naval battle scene; trigger guard & backstrap retain virtually all of their orig silver plating, oxidized to black on the trigger guard & trigger plate, at the top of the backstrap and on the buttstrap; grip is sound with some battering on bottom edges and moderate wear on sharp edges with a few nicks & dings and retains most of its orig varnish; wedge screw is missing; mechanics are fine, bright shiny bore with a few spots of pitting. 4-45189 JR484 (5,000-7,000) 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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