GUN FALL 2015
The live portion of this session begins on Monday, October 5, 2015.
COLT CAVALRY SINGLE ACTION ARMY REVOLVER.COLTSAA13757145 ColtCal. 45 Colt Blue and color case hardened with 7-1/2" bbl, full front sight & 1-line block letter address. Left side of frame has 2-line, 3 patent dates & a small "U.S". Mounted with 1-pc oil-finish walnut grip with clear, legible "SEB" (Capt. Stanhope E. Blunt) inspector cartouche under the date 1891 on left side. Right side has a legible "RAC" (Rinaldo A. Carr) sub-inspector cartouche. Ejector housing is 3rd type with half-moon ejector head. Bottom of bbl, under ejector housing has last 4 digits of matching SN which are also found on cylinder and in backstrap channel of grip. Bottom left edge of grip, bottom of bbl, frame & cylinder also have Mr. Carr''s initials. Trigger guard, buttstrap show the "K" inspector initial. This revolver was from the 13th contract signed on Sept 19 1890 for 2000 revolvers. Although these revolvers were late on the scene for the Indian Wars, they were still issued to various Cavalry units and militias. The fact that this revolver escaped the recalls of 1895 and the early 20th Century attests to the fact that it either remained in an arsenal or was possibly issued to a militia unit. Those revolvers recalled were converted to artillery configuration with 5-1/2" bbls. There is also the possibility that it may have been issued to a high-ranking officer or stolen. Accompanied by a Colt Factory letter which lists this revolver in cal.45, bbl length & type of stocks not listed, blue finish, and delivered to U. S. Inspector at Colt Plant January 20, 1891 in a 200-gun shipment. Also accompanied by a letter from renowned Colt author and historian, John Kopec, wherein he authenticates this revolver and states that three other revolvers in the same series were listed as having been stolen from Troop K, 8th Cavalry on October 26, 1892. He speculates that there is "A good possibility that the subject revolver had also been an 8th Cavalry issued example". He further speculates, as did this cataloger, that it had never been issued, and remained in an arsenal until sold privately. Regardless, this is still a fine example of a cavalry revolver. CONDITION: Fine to very fine, all-matching including bbl, cylinder, and grip. Bbl retains 95-96% strong orig blue with light surface freckling that has been cleaned. Frame retains bright case colors in sheltered areas, and overall retains about 50% faded case colors. Cylinder shows strong blue in flutes with a plummy patina on outer diameter. Trigger guard and frontstrap show blue on trigger plate with frontstrap, backstrap & buttstrap mostly a plummy brown patina. Ejector housing retains about 80% orig blue. Grip is sound with a couple of small dings, showing moderate edge wear with traces orig finish being mostly a dark hand-worn patina. Hammer will not catch in half-cock notch, otherwise mechanics are fine. Brilliant shiny bore, shows very little use. 49549-2 JR (12,500-17,500)