GUN FALL 2017
The live portion of this session begins on Tuesday, October 31, 2017.
FINE COLT CAVALRY SINGLE ACTION ARMY REVOLVER INSPECTED BY CAPT. STANHOPE E. BLUNT.COLTSAA13418345 COLTCal. 45 COLT. Blue & color case hardened with 7-1/2" bbl, full front sight & 1-line block letter address. Left side of frame has 3-line patent dates and "US". Ejector housing is 3rd type with half moon ejector rod head. Mounted with 1-pc walnut grip that has last 4-digits of matching SN in backstrap channel. Left side of grip has the faintly legible cartouche "SEB" (Capt. Stanhope E. Blunt) under the date that appears to be 1890. Right side has the faint outline of what would be the "RAC" (Rinaldo A. Carr), sub-inspector initials in cartouche. Mr. Carr's initials also appear on left bottom edge of grip, bottom of bbl, bottom of frame & cylinder. The trigger guard, backstrap & ejector housing are marked with the mystery "K" inspector initial. This revolver was produced in 1890 as part of the 12th and 13th contracts signed in Nov. 1889 & Sept. 1890 for 2,000 revolvers each. Many of these revolvers were assigned to militia units where they remained until recalled and were then sold as surplus. That this revolver escaped the recalls of the 1890s and early 20th century where thousands of cavalry revolvers were converted to artillery configuration by having their bbls cut to 5-1/2", attests to the fact that it was with an active cavalry unit, assigned to a militia or possibly had been stolen, which was not an uncommon occurrence. Regardless, few cavalry revolvers of that era remain today in orig configuration and with orig finish. CONDITION: Very fine, all matching including bbl, cylinder & grip. Bbl retains 93-95% glossy orig blue with light muzzle end wear and some thinning to the left side. Each side of the front sight and each side of the ejector stud show strong "feathers". Ejector housing retains about 90-92% strong orig blue, thinning to silver on about an inch of the outer radius at the muzzle end. Frame & hammer retain about 95-96% orig case colors, strong in the front gullets and in sheltered areas, brighter on the right side. Hammer shows strong bright case colors, turned dark on top edge. Cylinder retains about 75-80% thin orig blue on the outer diameter, strong & bright in the flutes. Chambers of the cylinder & bore retain most of their orig blue indicating that it has been fired very little. Trigger guard & trigger plate retain about 80% strong, bright blue thinning on the front strap. Backstrap & buttstrap retain about 70-75% strong orig blue, thin in the middle with a spot of cleaned pitting on the buttstrap. Grip is sound showing heavy edge wear on the right side and overall retains a hand worn patina. Hammer is not solid in half cock notch, otherwise mechanics are fine, very bright shiny bore. 52699-1 JRL (12,500-17,500)