Lot 1121: Colt Model 1860 Army Revolver with Relief-Carved Grip

This Civilian Colt Model 1860 Army revolver was manufactured in 1866. The revolver has a civilian style, three screw frame with no stock cut-outs in the recoil shield and rarely encountered blued, steel trigger guard. The revolver has grips with a highly detailed, relief carved Mexican Eagle and Rattlesnake motif in an oval on the left side. The barrel, cylinder, trigger guard and back strap have a deluxe, high polish blue finish. The loading lever, hammer and frame are color casehardened. The cylinder is roll-engraved with the Texas Navy battle scene and "COLT'S PATENT. The top of the barrel is roll-stamped with the legend "-ADDRESS COL. SAML COLT NEW-YORK U.S. AMERICA-" in a single line. "COLTS/PATENT" is stamped in two lines on the left side of the frame. "44 CAL" is stamped on the left shoulder of the trigger guard. The full serial number is stamped on the bottom of the barrel lug, frame, trigger guard and back strap. The partial serial number, "8197" is stamped on the cylinder. The "8" is struck over a number "1", a factory error. There is an "L" suffix stamped on the frame and trigger guard under the serial number. All of the serial numbers match.

Excellent. The revolver shows only very minor storage and light handling marks and retains 85% plus of the original high polish blue and 95% plus vivid original color casehardened finish. Finish wear is limited to some very slight fading on the rebated portion of the cylinder and the nipple cut-outs. The case colors on the loading lever, frame and hammer are vivid. The screw heads are in excellent condition and have generous amounts of the niter blue finish. There is no flash pitting on the percussion nipples or the face of the cylinder. All of the safety pins are intact. The period replacement grip is in very fine condition and has a very attractive age patina. There are several hairline age cracks on the left side of the grip and the butt and two small repairs at the junction of the grip and the back strap. There is one tiny chip on the left front of the grip. The later relief carved eagle and rattlesnake motifs are extremely crisp. The markings on the barrel and frame are sharp. The action functions perfectly. This is an exceptional example of a post-Civil War production Model 1860 Army revolver with deluxe blue finish and intricate, relief carved grips. It would be difficult to improve upon this outstanding revolver.