copyright William Marion 2008
Black Powder Revolver
The Online Magazine and Resource for Black Powder Revolvers
April 2006 Edition
Page 2
One thing to watch for is serial numbers that while matching in number, have different fonts, appear to be struck differently or don’t appear to be equally aged, that may be an indication that the revolver has been pieced together from real parts and replica parts, or is all replica parts. With the low end of the market being around $1500 for a period revolver, you can understand the motivation for unscrupulous folks to get creative.
By this point I’m convinced that this is the real thing and I’m trying to keep from hyperventilating. I must say it felt just like the replicas only perhaps being a bit “tighter”. After 140 years or so, that should be expected.
Next was the 1858 Remington. It was tagged as an 1861 model; however the barrel was stamped 1858. While 1858’s and variants were produced until 1875, they were based on an 1858 patent and production actually started in 1861. There is not space in this article to discuss the designations of 1858 versus 1861 versus New or Old Model Army. Let’s save that for another time. This revolver was stamped patent “4-1858”. The serial number “41524” was stamped on the underside of the barrel under the cylinder pin. It had a prominent V groove on the top of the frame and had the inscription “State Prison” in script on the butt of the frame. This peaked my curiosity even more.
Continuing we then looked at the 1849 Pocket. It was in .36 cal and in excellent condition. It was easy to read the inscription “Col Sam Colt New York US America” on the barrel. Remember the hint above; check the inscription as later Colt models had a different inscription. I noted the serial number “177577” for later research.
The last revolver we looked at was a massive Colt Dragoon. It easily weighed in at the advertised 7.5 lbs. The history books say that mounted cavalry carried 2 of these on horseback. I can see why, you need a horse if you’re going to get very far carrying these things. It looked the most aged of any of the revolvers and had what appeared to be light rust through the remains of the blueing on the cylinder and barrel. It had a serial number of “3271”, the same Colt inscription on the barrel as
By this point I’m convinced that this is the real thing and I’m trying to keep from hyperventilating. I must say it felt just like the replicas only perhaps being a bit “tighter”. After 140 years or so, that should be expected.
Next was the 1858 Remington. It was tagged as an 1861 model; however the barrel was stamped 1858. While 1858’s and variants were produced until 1875, they were based on an 1858 patent and production actually started in 1861. There is not space in this article to discuss the designations of 1858 versus 1861 versus New or Old Model Army. Let’s save that for another time. This revolver was stamped patent “4-
Continuing we then looked at the 1849 Pocket. It was in .36 cal and in excellent condition. It was easy to read the inscription “Col Sam Colt New York US America” on the barrel. Remember the hint above; check the inscription as later Colt models had a different inscription. I noted the serial number “177577” for later research.
The last revolver we looked at was a massive Colt Dragoon. It easily weighed in at the advertised 7.5 lbs. The history books say that mounted cavalry carried 2 of these on horseback. I can see why, you need a horse if you’re going to get very far carrying these things. It looked the most aged of any of the revolvers and had what appeared to be light rust through the remains of the blueing on the cylinder and barrel. It had a serial number of “3271”, the same Colt inscription on the barrel as
Notice the inscription on photograph to the right “COL SAM COLT NEW-YORK U.S. AMERICA”. This changed on later models and can help confirm the age and authenticity of a Colt revolver