Colt First Model Richards Conversion. Manufactured between 1871 and 1875. The revolver has a nickel plated barrel, six-notch cylinder, frame and back strap, silver plated brass trigger guard and casehardened hammer. The grip features a relief carved Mexican eagle on the left side and deeply carved checkering on both sides of the grip. The revolver has a ball shaped ejector rod tip, cross-hatched ejector head, three-screw frame with no stock cuts, internal loading gate spring, conversion ring with fixed rear sight, centerfire firing pin, casehardened hammer with cross-hatched, bordered and underlined spur and small hammer screw. The top of the barrel is roll-stamped with the one-line legend: "-ADDRESS COL. SAML COLT NEW-YORK U.S. AMERICA-". "COLTS/PATENT" is stamped in two lines on the left side of the frame. The cylinder is roll-engraved with the Texas Navy battle scene and "COLTS PATENT NO." "44 CAL" is stamped on the left trigger guard shoulder. The full serial number "2844" is stamped on the bottom of the barrel lug, frame, trigger guard, back strap and on the side of the cylinder. The assembly number "1647" is stamped on the conversion ring and loading gate.

Excellent. The revolver retains 90% plus of the original nickel plated finish. Wear is limited to some minor flaking on the power portion of the barrel lug and on the inside of the ejector housing. The brass trigger guard has traces of the nickel plated finish in protected areas. The hammer has a mottled gray patina with traces of the original case colors. The serial numbers, barrel and frame markings are crisp. The cylinder retains nearly all of the roll-engraved naval scene. The grip is excellent with an attractive mellow age patina and minimal shrinkage. The relief carved Mexican eagle is crisp and shows minimal handling wear. The checkering is sharp. This is an exceptional example of a First Model Richards Conversion with rare and desirable relief carved Mexican eagle grip.