October 30 - November 2, 2018 Firearms, Militaria, & Sporting

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Bidding

This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/30/2018

This collection proves that if you want something bad enough, have the means to purchase and the diligence to persevere numerous obstacles, that dreams can and do come true. In short, this collection of ten Colt Single Action Army Revolvers is the only such collection ever assembled. Historians will point to the late 19th century when ten special order Colt Single Action Army Revolvers were produced but they were all .45 caliber, nickel finish and engraved with 5-1/2" barrels and the serial numbers were not consecutive. This was a mythical run of Colts that many believe the Dalton gang ended up procuring and were used in the famous robbery at Coffeyville, Kansas of which three revolvers from that order still exist. But we go back to the fact that they were all the same and not consecutive, and cannot be compared to this current collection whereas each revolver has a special feature or combination of features, making each unique and one-of-a-kind. If any reader has ever tried to get just a single Colt from the custom gun shop with features they were no longer making, you know how difficult it was to have them overlook the discontinued items and produce them for you, regardless. Now, consider at the time the first order was placed in 1988 and the last firearm was completed on September 21st, 1995 and requested they reserve ten consecutive serial numbers from regular production for a period of over eight years and the idea that was formulated to make each one unique took a tremendous amount of patience and compliance from both sides of the table. As if coming up with ten consecutive unique Colt Army revolvers was not challenge enough alone, let's examine the firewalls that were thrown into this span of time. Upon placing the first order in 1988, Colt was in the middle of a five year Union strike, making available labor spotty at best. Then in 1992, Colt filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection where it wallowed until sold in September of 1994. It is well known that a smooth running company retains its figureheads for long period of time and that when head management changes at a rapid pace, quality and production spiral out of control. So it was during this era that these Colts were made, saw the coming and going of four different presidents: Gary W. French, Richard F. Gamble, Ronald Stillwell and Ronald C. Whitaker. In fact, there was no president when the last gun was ready for presentation and delivery. Eventually, the vacant office was filled by Donald E. Zilkha. The Colt Custom Gun Shop, renowned for the master craftsmen it employed, was in upheaval as well. Lou Sharp, the Custom Sales Shop manager would resign and Al DeJohn, founder of the shop, retired in 1990. DeJohn was replaced for a short period of time by Joe Bischof and again by Jim Alaimo. Alaimo soon resigned as well, and the custom shop responsibilities were divided into production and sales with Paul Zamsky appointed custom shop supervisor and Lynn Shea custom shop sales supervisor. In 1992, the company planned a consolidation of the two Hartford plants that was not completed until May 31st, 1994 with the custom shop among the last to vacate the Hartford Armory building. The turmoil at the Colt Factory made it nearly impossible to get an order such as this processed, a major problem being the withdrawal of serial numbers in this range, the suspending of production of the black powder style frames, shortage of supply of one piece ivory stocks, and the return of the custom shop guideline that did not allow customers to select a specific engraver. Every gun in this collection is a Custom Gun Shop endeavor; each remains unfired in its original box. It is also interesting to note that the last revolver manufactured was delivered personally by Jeffrey R. Crute, Vice President of Sales and Marketing. During these eight years, Colt mainstays such as Marty Huber, Kathy Hoyt and Beverly Haynes continued diligently to keep this project on point. To conclude, it was a near miracle that the set of Colts that dreams are made of was ever finished at all. Since their completion, this one-of-a-kind and unique collection has been featured in its entirety in two books. You can find images of the complete collection with brief descriptions and serial numbers on page 316 and 317 in the book titled "Colt and Its Collectors" as well as in "The Colt Engraving Book Vol. II" by R.L. Wilson on pages 804 and 805. Once the collection was completed, simply sticking them in a drawer was no way to display something that took almost a decade to create, so a custom wood and glass case was built specifically for this collection. ID cards were printed up so that the entire collection could be hung from the wall with the specific information for each gun listed, and the boxes put away for safe keeping. Another one-of-a-kind event took place as well, Kathy Hoyt, the well-known and longtime Colt historian did the first ever ten unit factory letter, each one in sequential order starting with SA77770 and ending with serial No. SA77779, which every detail of each firearm was duly noted, and as if that was not enough, she typed out the entire history that has just been presented to you as part of the letter, which takes up seven pages. Of course these books and all this documentation, as well as the display case will come with the collection. There is also a very interesting, detailed "Study in Numbers" such as "One of the ten revolvers has a non-standard style grip frame", "Two of the ten revolvers have long flute cylinders", "Five of the ten revolvers have hand checkered ivory grips", etc. As to shipping, three guns in consecutive order were shipped directly to the customer, which is contrary to Colt’s policy. The three guns are SA...77, SA...78 and SA...79; the first two being shipped in July of 1988 and the last in September of 1995. LIST OF DETAILS FOR EACH GUN IN SET BY SEQUENTIAL ORDER, NOT ORDER OR SHIPPING DATES SA77770: Caliber .44-40, 7-1/2" barrel, blued finish; case colored frame, backstrap, trigger guard and hammer. The ejector rod head, base pin, trigger and external screws are heat blued. The stocks are black composition featuring the eagle motif. Special features: Beveled cylinder of long flute configuration. Colt Frontier Six Shooter roll marking on barrel. Black powder style frame. Shipped January 29th, 1994. Custom Shop Order No. 4318. Guns in shipment: 1. Comments: Color case backstrap, trigger guard and long flute cylinder are almost never seen. SA77771: Caliber .44-40, 5-1/2" barrel, blue with color case frame, backstrap, trigger guard and hammer. The ejector rod head, base pin, trigger and external screws are heat blue. The stocks are black composition featuring the eagle motif. Special features: Beveled cylinder of long flute configuration. Colt Frontier Six Shooter roll marking on barrel. Black powder style frame. Shipped January 27th, 1994. Custom Shop Order No. 4315. Guns in shipment: 1. Comments: Color case backstrap, trigger guard and long flute cylinder are almost never seen. SA77772: Caliber .45 LC, 4” barrel, blue with case colored frame, backstrap, trigger guard and hammer. The ejector rod head, base pin, trigger and external screws are heat blue. Grips are one piece checkered ivory. Gun exhibit Class C standard American scroll engraving executed by master engraver Dennis Kies. Special features: bird’s head grip configuration and black powder style frame. Shipped March 31st, 1991. Colt Custom Gun Shop Order No 4317. Guns in shipment: 1. Comments: 4” barrel with bird’s head grip, rare special order. SA77773: Caliber .44-40, 4-3/4” barrel, blue and case color with fire blue ejector rod head, base pin, trigger and external screws. Grips are one piece smooth ivory. Exhibits Class D standard American scroll engraving executed by master engraver John Adams. Special features: beveled cylinder, etched panel Colt Frontier Six Shooter barrel marking and black powder style frame. Shipped May 20th, 1993. Colt Custom Gun Shop Order No. 4314. Guns in shipment: 1. SA77774: Caliber .45 LC, 4-3/4” barrel, nickel finish with fire blued base pin, ejector rod head, trigger and external screws. Exhibits Class D standard American scroll engraving by Denise Thirion. Special Features: black powder style frame. Shipped November 25th, 1989. Colt Custom Gun Shop Order No. 3621. Guns in Shipment: 1. SA77775 & SA77776: .45 LC, 4-3/4” barrels, nickel finish with fire blued base pin, ejector rod head, trigger and external screws. Grips are Fleur-de-Lis checkered ivory without medallions. Shipped July 1st, 1990 and September 21st, 1990. Colt Custom Gun Shop Order No. 3622. Comments: ordered as a matching consecutive numbered pair, shipped nearly three months apart. SA77777 & SA77778: .44-40, 4-3/4” barrels, nickel finish with heat blue base pin, ejector pin, trigger and external screws. Grips are Fleur-de-Lis checkered ivory without medallions. Special features: black powder style frame, Colt Frontier Six Shooter roll marking on barrel, consecutively numbered as a matched pair. Shipped July14th, 1988. Colt Custom Gun Shop Order No. 3459. Comments: these two guns shipped as matched pair on the same date. SA77779: .44-40 caliber, 7-1/2” barrel, nickel finish with heat blue ejector rod head, base pin, trigger and external screws. Grips are one piece smooth ivory. Exhibits Class B standard American scroll engraving executed by master engraver Tom Freyburger. Special features: black powder style frame, beveled cylinder, etched panel “COLT FRONTIER SIX SHOOTER” barrel marking, hand presented by Jeff Crute on September 21st, 1995. And there you have it, in its entirety. The most unique, consecutively numbered ten gun set of Colt Single Action Army revolvers ever produced; a feat that could no longer be duplicated at any cost. This extraordinary set is offered with the custom made display case, Volumes I and II of the signed and numbered (77/3000) book of Colt Engraving by R.L. Wilson, the book “Colt and its Collectors”, the complete ten gun set letter from Colt, and a booklet of related material on this collection. We can safely say without a doubt that this collection is unique to all the world and a true once in a lifetime opportunity. Each and every Colt is a work of art. Any collector of means can buy an original painting by some noted artist but only one will ever own one of the greatest and most unique sets of custom Colts ever produced.

Bidding Current Bidding Minimum Bid: $45,000.00 Final prices include buyers premium: Estimate: $90,000 - $125,000 Number Bids: 4	Auction closed on Friday, November 2, 2018.

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