Manufactured by Jesse Butterfield of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1861-1862, the Butterfield Revolvers were manufactured for a contract of 2,280 for the U.S. government contract. The contract was rescinded and production halted after an estimate 640 revolvers. Though the revolvers had been ordered for the Ira Harris Guards (later the 5th and 6th New York Infantry) those produced were not issued by the government to the unit. However, many have said that some members of the unit privately purchased several of the guns. The remaining revolvers were likely sold on the open market and may have been used by both sides of the conflict. The revolver has a brass frame with blue five-shot cylinder, octagonal barrel, casehardened attached loading lever and two-piece flared walnut grips. The revolver is equipped with a special disc priming device loaded by loosening a thumb-screw in front of the trigger guard. The brass top strap is marked "BUTTERFIELD'S/PATENT DEC.11 1855/PHILADA". Matching serial numbers are found on the barrel, loading lever, cylinder, butt, and bottoms of both grip panels. The consignor indicates that this revolver came out of a North Carolina estate.

Very good. There are patches of silver plating on the frame which otherwise displays a nicely aged patina. The barrel, loading lever, and cylinder have 20% of the original finish and case colors with otherwise an gray patina with patches of mild pitting. The grips are good with the exception of a large chip absent on the toe of the right panel and significant wear on the left panel. The markings are crisp, and the action is fine. This is an above average example of the very rarely seen Civil War era revolver that is sure to be absent from even many of the most advanced collections.