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EXTRAORDINARILY RARE EARLY CASED COLT HARTFORD-LONDON 3RD MODEL DRAGOON PERCUSSION REVOLVER.

Currency:USD Category:Antiques / Firearms & Armory Start Price:20,000.00 USD Estimated At:40,000.00 - 70,000.00 USD
EXTRAORDINARILY RARE EARLY CASED COLT HARTFORD-LONDON 3RD MODEL DRAGOON PERCUSSION REVOLVER.
PLEASE NOTE (9-25-13): The photo in the catalog contains the wrong tin. The correct and original tin to this set is photographed online and will be sold with the gun. SN 3. Cal. 44. Blue & color case hardened with 7-1/2" oct to rnd bbl, German silver front sight and ultra rare hand engraved left hand address "SAML COLT, LONDON." Left side of frame is hand engraved "COLT'S PATENT". Cyl is usual 6-shots with Dragoon/Indian fight scene roll marking and "MODEL U.S.M.R. / COLT'S PATENT" panels surrounding the SN. Left side of frame & cyl have English proofs. The hammer is, most unusually, matching numbered on the right side. The silver plated brass trigger guard & back strap contain an extremely rare, varnished deluxe burl walnut 2-pc grip with blued steel escutcheons and a steel transverse screw. Accompanied by an orig, rare, burgundy velvet lined English oak casing with empty medallion in the lid, a rnd lock escutcheon on the front with swinging latches. Interior is compartmented in the bottom for the revolver, a fine Barlow bag flask with adjustable spout graduated 3/4, 7/8 and 1 dram, a brass 2-cavity "COLTS PATENT" mold with sprue cutter marked with an "H" on right side, a lacquered tin of Eleys caps with repoussed brass medallion on top and marked on right side "NO.26", an L-shaped nipple wrench, a pewter oil bottle and a full sealed tin of orange label Eley Bros. caps. Covered right rear compartment contains bullets & balls. Also accompanied by two letters dated July & August 2002 from renowned Colt historian & author, Joseph G. Rosa, wherein he discusses this revolver and its extreme rarity and that only a very few are known with the engraved bbl address and frame marking as well as the extremely rare 2-pc grip. Additionally accompanied by a 3-page letter from renowned Colt researcher, historian & author, R.L. Wilson, wherein he states that this revolver is "one of the rarest of percussion Colt revolvers". He also comments that only a handful of 3rd Model Hartford English Dragoon revolvers used the grip escutcheons with transverse grip screw that "This likely reflects a concern that the one-piece grips might not hold up under the stress of a four pound two ounce revolver, particularly with recoil of firing." He also states that this is the second lowest numbered Hartford English Dragoon known. According to the records of Pete Holder, firearms dealer/collector, who has surveyed 235 of the 700 (more than 33%) Colt Hartford-London Dragoons production, only three revolvers (#2, #3 and #125) have the hand engraved "SAML COLT, LONDON" address and also that only three revolvers (#2, #3 and #125) are known with the grip escutcheon. Also Pete Holder states that serial number 3 is the second lowest number known because he found serial number 2 in England more than twenty years ago. PROVENANCE: Dr. John M. Pickup Collection. CONDITION: Very fine plus, all matching including wedge & grip. Bbl retains 75-80% orig blue mixed with flaked areas that are a medium patina; rammer & handle retain dark case colors; frame retains faded case colors, turning silver, stronger on the right side; hammer also retains faded case colors with pitting around the nose; cyl is a medium to dark patina with a ding near the front edge and scattered pin prick pitting and shows 60-70% Dragoon/Indian fight scene with both panels completely legible; trigger guard & back strap retain about all of their strong orig silver finish with only slight wear at the heel. Grip has a series of bruises on left side at the frame with a few light nicks & scratches and retains about all of its deluxe varnish finish. Mechanics are fine, bright shiny bore. Case lid is slightly shrunken and overall has light handling & storage nicks & scratches with some staining on the lid and retains about 80% orig varnish; inside the lid is heavily faded with light soil; bottom is moderately to heavily faded with moderate soil; flask is extremely fine with bright brass & bright blue spring; mold is lightly nicked & dinged with bright blue remaining on the sprue cutter; other accessories are very fine. 4-46455