GUN SPRING 2018
The live portion of this session begins on Wednesday, March 21, 2018.
SPECTACULAR ENGRAVED AND IDENTIFIED HENRY RIFLE WITH CIVIL WAR SERVICE IN VERY FINE ORIGINAL CONDITION. HENRY 1860 7465 44 HENRY Cal. 44 Henry. 24" oct bbl. Correct rear bbl sight with 900 yd. The frame engraved during the period of use, the left front side with a large eagle clasping olive branches and flags while standing on the American shield, the rear two thirds of the frame engraved with a border of ferns, the panel engraved "F. Hoch" in highly stylized letters over "C.B. 3rd Regt. U.S.V.V", the front of the right side engraved with a seven pointed star with the same fern borders, the panel with an emblem with an owl perched on a banner reading 'GUT HEIL" with two fern branches below. Screws all fit well to the frame and wood without any matching numbers. SN indicates that it is too high to have screws numbered to the gun, as this practice was dropped at around 5000. The bottom tang is marked with a small "w" between the latch lever and wood stock screw. Rifle comes equipped with sling swivels mounted on left side of stock with bump below the mounting of the sling swivel. Sling swivel also mounted on left side of bbl. Complete with the rarely found original Henry rifle dust cover: this is a simple wooden block carved out to fit over the bolt and into the frame. The top is covered with a thin brass plate which is engraved in the same style as the frame. A very similarly engraved Henry rifle credited to Lockwood Sanford is illustrated on pg. 35 of The Winchester Book by George Madis. PROVENANCE: The spectacular collections of Ray Bentley featuring the finest and rarest deluxe antique Winchesters in the world. CONDITION: Fine to very fine. Bbl has thinned to about 30-40% with remaining blue turning plum. Ample amount of blue in flute of mag and bbl connection. Blue blends in well with bbl itself. Address is crisp and sharp with a very light age patina around the rear sight. All screw heads show evidence of being removed but are still in serviceable condition. Bright shiny bore, rating a 9 on a scale of 1-10. The frame and buttplate are fine with a clear coat of substance to protect the brass. Hammer is crisp with faint case colors. Lever is mostly dark patina with trigger a slate grey color. Varnish finished walnut stock is very fine with no gouges, cracks or missing slivers of wood. The left wrist has original small block letter marking "A.W.M". The dust cover is in fine condition with crisp engraving. Buttplate fits extremely well with no gouges in that area. Rifle cycles correctly. Mechanics are fine and bore is bright and shiny. This is a very fine 2nd model Henry that has seen very little use. The 3rd Regiment of U.S. Veteran Volunteers has a rich Civil War history and many were 'Galvanized Yankees'. Serious research will elevate the already high status of this wonderful Henry. 53091-9 MS (60,000-80,000)