2009

VERY RARE COLT MODEL 1872-1873 OPEN TOP SINGLE ACTION REVOLVER FROM THE FAMOUS U.S. CARTRIDGE COMPAN

Currency:USD Category:Antiques / Firearms & Armory Start Price:15,000.00 USD Estimated At:30,000.00 - 45,000.00 USD
VERY RARE COLT MODEL 1872-1873 OPEN TOP SINGLE ACTION REVOLVER FROM THE FAMOUS U.S. CARTRIDGE COMPAN
SN 2729. Cal. 44 RF Henry. Blue and color case hardened with 7-1/2" rnd bbl, German silver front sight, 1-line New-York U.S. America address and fixed rear sight at the breech end of the bbl. Right side of bbl lug is mounted with an ejector housing that has flat bull's eye ejector rod head. Left side of frame has 2-line paten dates. The blued steel trigger guard & backstrap contain a nicely figured, varnished, 1-pc walnut grip with matching SN in backstrap channel. Bottom right edge of grip is stamped "JK". Cylinder is unfluted & unnumbered with the Ormsby Naval Battle Scene roll marking. Hammer has had the firing pin attached to the left side of the nose with 2 rivets. Top of the backstrap is hand stamped "U.S.C. Co." which stands for the U.S. Cartridge Company. Very likely this revolver was either furnished by or purchased from Colt for cartridge testing. Fortunately for today's collector, if it was fired, it shows no evidence at all. According to Flayderman's Guide to Antique American Firearms there were about 7000 of these scarce revolvers produced in the period 1872-1873. The vast majority of these revolvers saw hard service on the American frontier but were shortly made obsolete with the advent of Colt's Model 1873 Single Action Army Revolver which had a solid frame and used heavier center fire cartridges. The majority of these revolvers, once replaced, found their way into Mexico and South America where the Henry cartridge was still popular and in extensive use. Those specimens that have returned from Mexico and South America are usually found to be in near relic condition with a large percentage of them having had their bbls cut. Extremely few are ever found with high orig finish and an unfired specimen such as this one is practically unknown. PROVENANCE: U.S. Cartridge Company CONDITION: Extremely fine. Wedge is unnumbered, cylinder arbor is numbered 1527 and the cylinder is without number. Bbl retains 60%-70% orig blue, having flaked to a medium patina. Frame and hammer retain virtually all of their bright, orig case colors. Firing pin retains about all of its bright fire blue. Cylinder retains most of its bright orig blue showing wear on the front and rear edges and some fine flaking & shows about 99% Ormsby Naval Battle Scene. Chambers retain strong orig blue as do the front & rear faces of cylinder indicating that it has never been fired. Trigger guard & backstrap retain nearly all of their bright orig blue mixed with fine flaking. Grip has a chipped left toe, otherwise is sound with a few nicks and shows moderate edge wear and retains most of its orig varnish. Mechanics are crisp, brilliant shiny bore. 4-49406 JR301