SOLD Colt 1849 Pocket, numbers-matching, 31 caliber, manufactured in 1852 - $900

[gregdr01]

Colt 1849 Pocket
- 31 caliber
- S/N 25307
- manufactured in 1852

$900 shipped insured to your FFL (US48)
(Why to an FFL? To protect the pistol's value with shipping insurance -- see follow-up post below for more detail.)

Made in 1852 (9 years before the start of the Civil War), this beauty is a numbers-matching specimin with a bit of roll-markings still visible on the five-shot cylinder, plus some rifling remaining in the bore, and, the action still works!

You're not going to shoot it (or will you?), but you can turn the cylinder by pulling back on the hammer (which sometimes needs a bit of help).

Serial number 25307. Just imagine who's handled this 31-caliber black powder pistol over all those years, and what it's experienced since it was first delivered to its owner from the Colt factory, 170 years ago!

There is a little wobble of the barrel and cylinder on the base pin, but the forcing cone-to-cylinder gap is prety tight, and lockup is good for all five cylinders. The revolver is all original (I believe), although the wedge is perhaps suspect -- I did buy a "factory original" wedge and wedge screw from oldarmsofidaho.com, and both the replacement and original parts it came with when I bought it are included.

Matching serial numbers are present on the frame (bottom), cylinder, grip bottom, loading lever, and trigger guard. Markings legible include "Colt Patent" on left side of frame below cylinder, "Address Sam Colt / New York City" on top of barrel, serial number and faint stage coach scene on cylinder, plus serial numbers.

I have not fired this revolver, nor have I cleaned it. Beautiful patina on an amazing piece of American history.

I also have a modern (1994) Uberti reproduction of this exact same pistol -- they make a fabulous and fun-to-own pair, and together you'll have a relic of a bygone era, and a modern version to experience what it was like to shoot the original back in the day! Contact me if interested in both and we'll work out a deal.

More/high-res photos available... ask me if you have any questions!

Greg

 

[azmntman]

Why an FFL?

 

[gregdr01]

There are a lot of different schools of thought about shipping BP arms through the USPS, and I have shipped directly to a buyer in the past as well. But doing so is at the sender's risk, even if it's insured.

See this thread for detail on what can happen if you send a BP firearm -- even insured -- without it going to an FFL.

For a BP gun worth less than $400, I still might take the chance, but for an antique revolver worth at least $900 -- and I've seen the same model, in horrible condition, sell for north of $2,000 -- I'm not going to take the chance. But I'm going to cover the expense for shipping/insurance/FFL, up to the point where the buyer's FFL takes possession. By the way, I have documentation supporting value of at least $900, so I'm confident that amount would be covered by shipping insurance.

Your FFL shouldn't require any transfer fee, since it's not a firearm -- besides being black powder, it's old enough to qualify as a relic/antique. However, in order to be covered by shipping insurance, it must be shipped as if it were a firearm.

For anyone in AZ, it'd be a simple hand-off -- I wouldn't even need to do a firearms bill of sale, but I would if the buyer wanted one -- but sending to someone outside AZ, it must be sent to an FFL to be covered by insurance -- and that's the real issue here. I will cover costs of shipping/insurance ($1,000 coverage), but if your FFL has a fee for accepting/transfering black powder firearms, that'll be at your expense.

Hope that helps!

 

[Boburuncle]

There are a lot of different schools of thought about shipping BP arms through the USPS, and I have shipped directly to a buyer in the past as well. But doing so is at the sender's risk, even if it's insured.

See this thread for detail on what can happen if you send a BP firearm -- even insured -- without it going to an FFL.

For a BP gun worth less than $400, I still might take the chance, but for an antique revolver worth at least $900 -- and I've seen the same model, in horrible condition, sell for north of $2,000 -- I'm not going to take the chance. But I'm going to cover the expense for shipping/insurance/FFL, up to the point where the buyer's FFL takes possession. By the way, I have documentation supporting value of at least $900, so I'm confident that amount would be covered by shipping insurance.

Your FFL shouldn't require any transfer fee, since it's not a firearm -- besides being black powder, it's old enough to qualify as a relic/antique. However, in order to be covered by shipping insurance, it must be shipped as if it were a firearm.

For anyone in AZ, it'd be a simple hand-off -- I wouldn't even need to do a firearms bill of sale, but I would if the buyer wanted one -- but sending to someone outside AZ, it must be sent to an FFL to be covered by insurance -- and that's the real issue here. I will cover costs of shipping/insurance ($1,000 coverage), but if your FFL has a fee for accepting/transfering black powder firearms, that'll be at your expense.

Hope that helps!

Not to belabor the point, but do you consider, or does the shipping insurer consider a C&R license an FFL?

 

[gregdr01]

Not to belabor the point, but do you consider, or does the shipping insurer consider a C&R license an FFL?

For shipping a true antique pistol, a C&R license would be entirely sufficient. By definition, a C&R license is intended for dealings involving such relics.

It'd only come up at all if there's an insurance claim (because the package didn't arrive, or the pistol was damaged in transit), and a C&R recipient covers the licensee "issue."

So in a nutshell, yes I'd ship to a C&R (or possibly go through my FFL, who'd send to the C&R licensee).