I only started collecting Colt 2nd gen percussion revolvers in earnest back around 2010. Prior to that I had purchased one of the first C series 1851 Navies when they came out in 1971. Later on in 1975, I got a C series 3rd model Dragoon and then in 1978 or 79 got one of the first F series 1860 Armies. Then I got married so life and family pretty much put my Colt 2nd gen collecting on a permanent halt. I missed the 3rd gens and didn't even know they existed until much later.
By 2010 I had been divorced for 5 years and retired for 3. I discovered Gunbroker and the Colt forum. Having picked up several of the Dennis Adler coffee table books and a copy of Dennis Russell's Collector's handbook and price guide for 2nd generation percussion Colt revolvers, which included all the history of how the line came to exist, how it was produced, and distributed plus all the items that were cataloged--including the 3rd gens. Armed with this info I was able to navigate Gunbroker and online live auctions to end up building a pretty good collection. I have maybe 30 or more 2nd gens including 2 or more of all the standard catalog items. I bought the majority on Gunbroker.com.
The fact that so many people including most sellers know very little about how these were produced was an advantage to me. Up until the pandemic, the prices were still quite reasonable compared to common Uberti's and Pietta's. Besides, I was buying these as collectables and not to shoot. I had less expensive Uberti's and PIetta's for that. Now, I couldn't afford any of the fancy engraved Ivory gripped models that came out of the Colt custom shop but I've got pretty much everything else I wanted and at prices that one can't touch these days. I didn't try to collect the 3 stainless steel models because they never existed as a 1st gen original. I did pick up two 3rd gens---a cased Walker and a Pocket 1849. The Walker because the case duplicated the famous Danish Sea captain Walker that sold for about 2 million several years ago and the 1849 because Colt sold more of those than any other pistol back in the 19th century--even the 51 Navy.
Still, I would routinely scour GunBroker every day for bargains that would pop up. I would actually look for items that were listed incorrectly because that was sometimes where the real gems were hidden. I never had an issue with any Gunbroker seller that wasn't resolved to my satisfaction in all that time. I knew that I had the proper written resources for all the 2nd gens and even 3 gens that I needed and that I didn't have to pay much attention to the constant misinformation that most sellers used to describe them. I have two or three of most of these along with seven 51 Navies out of either a Lee or a Grant set along with plenty of custom-cased sets
Every post deserves a little gun porn to look at so here ya go:
All eleven of the standard 2nd gen models with the exception of the F series 51 Navy and 3rd model Dragoon since I alread had those in the C series. Also none of the short runs (100 or less) that Colt produced to cover production errors and part overruns.
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The cased Walker is a 3rd gen picked up on Gunbroker with all accessories and original Colt inner and out boxes for $700. Of course the long barrelled SAA to its right is not a Colt. It'a Uberti movie replica of the revolver that Kirk Russell used in the movie Tombstone
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Here's a case that was one of 25 made to house and electroless nickle 1860 Army. I won the case minus revolver in a live auction out of Gettysburg about a year ago so I just stuck one of my regular 2nd gens in it. However, the shoulder stock attachment hook and knurled knob plus the sling ring are have the same nickle finish that the original revolver had. I doubt I'll ever find one of those long gone electroless nickel 2nd gen Armies.
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Cheers
