Designed by William Mason and Charles Brinckerhoff, Colt's factory manager and Superintendent of Engineering, the Model 1878 revolver was intended to be a double action alternative to Colt's legendary Single Action Army revolver. With 51,210 being produced, the 1878 was never nearly as popular as its single action cousin; however, there were still many that favored it in the West for its firepower, including Captain Jack Crawford, who replaced Buffalo Bill Cody as "Chief of Scouts" shortly after the Battle of Little Bighorn. This example was manufactured in 1904 and has the standard one-line address marked on top of the barrel and "COLT FRONTIER SIX SHOOTER" on the left. "5" is on the left of the trigger guard and a circled Rampant Colt is on the left of the frame. There is a blade front sight at the muzzle and a sighting groove in the top of the frame. It is fitted with a pair of checkered hard rubber grips with Rampant Colts in ovals at the top of each panel.

Fine, retains 50% of the original blue finish with the balance having thinned to mostly a smooth grey patina and a few scattered patches of light pitting. The grips are very good showing an attractive chocolate tone, some scattered light handling marks, and well-defined checkering. Mechanically excellent.