GUN FALL 2015
The live portion of this session begins on Monday, October 5, 2015.
EARLY SCARCE 7TH CAVALRY & NEW YORK MILITIA SINGLE ACTION ARMY REVOLVER.COLTSAA CAVALRY1702245 COLTCal. 45 Colt. Blue & case colored with 7-1/2″ bbl, 1-line block letter address. Left side of frame has 2-line patent dates and small “U.S.”. It has tiny “J” (W.W. Johnson) sub-inspector initials on the backstrap, cylinder & trigger guard and has a tiny “C” (A.P. Casey) sub-inspector initial on the bbl. It has an orig 1st type ejector rod housing with bull’s eye ejector rod head. Mounted with 1-pc walnut grips with a deep carved “55″ on the right side and the initials “RAC” (Rinaldo A. Carr) sub-inspector initials on bottom of right side. Serial numbers on the bbl, cylinder & backstrap have had a “1″ stamped in front of what originally would have been only the last four digits of the serial number. This revolver falls exactly in the range of known Colts which were issued to the 7th Cavalry immediately after Custer’s fiasco. In 1893 this revolver was recalled and remained in storage until 1895 when it was refurbished & reissued to the State of New York Militia. At that time the blue was restored, the frame was re-case colored, the grip replaced, the bbl address re-rolled and the butt strap was resurfaced & renumbered using the 2-line method instead of the orig 1-line. At that time the hammer was refinished with bright fire blue. The orig bbl address on this revolver would have been the script lettering with serifs or daggers at each end. Close examination reveals the remains of one of these marks in front of the new address. Close examination of the grip reveals that the serial number is overwritten in pencil in the backstrap channel. The hammer spring is a replacement. This revolver was manufactured between Dec. 1874 and Mar. 1875 and most assuredly would have been issued to a front line Cavalry unit engaged in the Indian Wars. As noted above, this revolver falls exactly in the range of revolvers issued to the 7th Cavalry to replace losses at The Little Big Horn. The grip however, is from a much later revolver manufactured between 1889 and 1890 which coincides with the recall of 1893 and refurbishing in 1895. Accompanied by a 2-pg letter from renowned Colt author, Historian and collector John Kopec wherein he concurs with the above description, citing several examples of revolvers in the same serial range identified to the 7th Cavalry post Little Big Horn. CONDITION: Exceptionally fine. Bbl retains 88-90% Colt blue, thin around the muzzle and light on the left side, bright & glossy elsewhere. Ejector rod housing retains about 75% Colt blue, bright & glossy in the gullets, thin and turning silver on the outer radius. Frame retains most of its Colt case colors, generally faded but bright & vivid in the very sheltered areas. Hammer retains about 90% of its bright niter blue, thin & dull on the top. Backstrap retains 93-95% orig blue, bright & glossy in the sheltered areas, thinning elsewhere. Trigger guard retains about 95% orig blue, thin on the front strap and bottom of the trigger bow. Cylinder retains about 80% orig blue, strong in the flutes, flaking & slightly thin on the outer diameter. Grip is sound with several nicks, dings & scratches and has a fine hand worn patina. Mechanics are fine, bright shiny bore. 49450-6 JR (15,000-20,000)