Colt 1860 .45 Army Revolver

[Mervyn Mitton]

Brian recently made a post about 'Iconic Firearms' and many of the suggestions were very

interesting. I can't remember if he mentioned this one - however, the New Army .45 1860

revolver must rank highly on any list. Most soldiers in the Union Army carried one.

Colt introduced his Navy model in 1851 - actually it was an Army weapon with the smaller bore

of .36. The Army model was different in that it was a .45 bore. There were also many other

similar weapons of varing sizes and bore.

I must tell you immediately , that whilst this is exactly the same as the Colt, it is in fact a copy.

Made by a firm called Uberti, it is something to do with Beretta or, Beretti. They are made by the

Company in the US and I am totally unable to distinguish it from an original 1860. The name

engraving across the top of the barrel is the giveaway. Colt's always say Colt and give the

address. This one says .44 New Army Model. Also, on a Colt it will give the Patent number -

this one has a block that just says Patent - but no number.

This and the English Tranter used a ram rod system to load the percussion chambers - 6 in total.

The ammo. chamber is nicely engraved with sailing warships.

Value wise I think it is about $400/450 - I think it depends in which Country it is sold. (300pounds)

Considering that it has a well fitted case and all accessories - including a bullet mould - I think

it is exceprtional value. Being a black powder weapon and a percussion it is exempt from many

regulations.

Should anyone be interested let me know and I will post it on our For Sale section.

http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_06_2013/post-6209-0-39846200-1370960928.jpgclick

[Mervyn Mitton]

With Percussion cap tin closed

http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_06_2013/post-6209-0-00003200-1370961075.jpgclick

[Mervyn Mitton]

Tin open

http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_06_2013/post-6209-0-69002600-1370961209.jpgclick

[Mervyn Mitton]

http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_06_2013/post-6209-0-45089900-1370961685.jpgclick

[Mervyn Mitton]

http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_06_2013/post-6209-0-54528000-1370961928.jpgclick

[Mervyn Mitton]

http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_06_2013/post-6209-0-04090500-1370962095.jpgclick

[Mervyn Mitton]

http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_06_2013/post-6209-0-85223300-1370962220.jpgclick

[Mervyn Mitton]

Spare nipples for the percussion caps + percussion caps

http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_06_2013/post-6209-0-79205100-1370962340.jpgclick

[jimhallam]

Unless it has been deactivated (I STRONGLY disapprove of this!) it is a "Section 1 firearm" and one of the few "handguns" ( I HATE that Americanism --- in England it is a Revolver or Pistol!) which can still be owned -- and shot -- by a person who has a Firearm Certificate.

There are LOTS of these about which have been aged and are being passed off as originals. Most of them will have had the marks linished off but the earliest repros were NOT Ubertis (as the American "text"-books would have you believe) but were made by CENTAUR in Belgium and they did not put their maker's mark on them. I had one in recently as part of a collection of "Antiques". The owner had bought it in the '70s and believed that it was a genuine Colt Dragoon -- -worth well in 4 figures. I played safe and put it into an American auction house described as what I believed it was... it was catalogued WITHOUT that "caveat" but still only sold for well under $1000 so obviously it was realised that it was a fake.

I recently saw a video where someone had what he thought was a genuine Colt Walker --- he was offerred $500,000 for pit providing that it was authenticated. It was not!

There used to be a chap in London making "A Company" Colt Walkers -- - he was the BEST guncase-maker in the London Gun Trade (Bernie Foggam -- now deceased --- known as "Bernie the Box") and he was tied up with another "scrote" -- Dickie Washer -- who passed off aged down Sheffield-made bowie knives. T.G. it is not as bad these days!!!

The easiest way to tell the early Colt fakes is that they do not have "gain-twist rifling" -- i.e., the pitch of the rifling changes.

I would be pleased to help people who need SPECIALIST advice --- but only about rifled arms up to WW2.

Jim H.

[Brian Wolfe]

Hello Jim,

Welcome to the forum.

As you can see we have a small number of people interested in firearms here so that the addition of another of the same interest is really good news to me.

I agree with you in the sense that reproductions of the level we see today are often passed off as authentic which is a true moral "crime". At the prices of authentic pieces today one can ill afford to learn only through one's own mistakes.

The one saving grace for these types of black powder revolvers (note I didn't use the term "handguns", being Canadian ) is that they can be fired without risking damage to an authertic specimen. While almost all, if not all, of my collection is in working condition I would never fire one for fear of such damage.

In the case of the weapon presented here, Mervyn, being the gentleman he is, has made it clear that this is a reproduction and not an authentic piece. That's all any seller can really do as what the next owner will do is beyond the control of the initial seller. We must educate ourselves, as indeed you have, in order not to make expensive mistakes. When it comes to any collectable, like investing capital, never risk more than you can afford to lose. In the case of firearm collecting the lessons can be expensive so unless you can afford to play one should stick to books on the subject.

I look forward to your future submissions on the subject and perhaps some images of your collection.

Regards

Brian

[Mervyn Mitton]

Hi - Jim. Brian has already welcomed you to GMIC and as he says - we will look forward to seeing pictures and your future

posts.

Being a percussion cap revolver I think it falls outside of the requirements in the UK for licensing. However, the Forum

covers most of the World and these same relaxations do not apply everywhere. South Africa took Flintlocks and percussion

off of the register - now, they are thinking of putting multi-shot percussion back under license.

Because of this - together with the fact that I am retiring (yet again !) at the end of August and closing the shop - I returned the gun in question to the original owner and have helped put it at auction.

You say ' the owner brought it in.." Do you have a shop ? You must tell us a little about this - if I am correct ? Mervyn