Original Colt 1860 army...Barrel marking Colt New York city?

[fireman1]

Opinions? I think the gun is a legit mismatched gun.

 

[Boston Bill]

IDK, this feels like it was defarbed? Probably an original? That would be cool. But still if it is original and is defarbed would it still be worth $750? I guess if you buy it, hoping it is an original you might never get your money back, thats if it partially just about the value.
I bought a 2nd gen 36 cal Navy that was defarbed and the guy scribbled his name on it and his hometown and address and it was in somewhat poor condition. Got it from TOW for $375 otd. But I wanted a 2nd gen for a shooter and I had Goons do his thing to it and mechanically it is really nice. Not so much to look at if you were critical about looks.
Every time I look at it I could just throttle the past owner, oh well. Get over it.

 

[Boston Bill]

Opinions? I think the gun is a legit mismatched gun.

Is the 76xxx the only serial number? Noticed the 868xx after I posted this. Looks like 1862 and 1863. Colt's Manufacturing LLC
Serial numbers certainly point to it being an original mismatch.
Unfortunately I am not home for a couple more days but my second gen has the Colt address top of the barrel. If it had anything else it was removed during the defarb and antiquing.
I think I would spend the money for a letter if you buy it.

 

[Boston Bill]

Wow, Colt letters certainly are not cheap anymore. https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/3a...chive Letter Price List.pdf?ver=1666372974381

 

[jimhallam]

Wow, Colt letters certainly are not cheap anymore. https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/3a0ff863-725b-4ed1-b811-0d1e27128917/downloads/Archive Letter Price List.pdf?ver=1666372974381

My life, already !!! Whoever bought the rights to issue these letters was crafty ;-)

 

[Packrat]

All things considered, $750.000 seems a fair price

 

[springfield art]

Progressives are usually registered democratic!

 

[springfield art]

View attachment 212409

Good photos of a handsome pistol! Too bad Sam Colt didn't live to see the end of the War, and the influence his later models had, e.g. the '73.

 

[Stantheman86]

For $750 I'd buy that , it would go nice with my original 1861 Springfield

The real deal for a less than a 2nd Gen? The mismatch wouldn't bother me.

It's mismatched so it's also more of a candidate to be an occasional shooter

I don't think anyone would "fake " a mismatched revolver out of an Italian to sell for $750

 

[fireman1]

I'm getting....$650. Cheaper than a used C or F series these days.

 

[Stantheman86]

I'm getting....$650. Cheaper than a used C or F series these days.

If I saw that for $650 I'd buy it in a heartbeat

I love mismatched original guns

They're just as historical and you can get em for much less than the "safe queens"

It could be an original rebuild or arsenal "clean up" gun , a gun used into the early 1870s when Model P's were coming in, and they were just trying to keep these old 1860s usable..........or it could be something made up well after they were obsolete by a Bannerman type place out of bunches of parts in the 1900 for mail order sales.

It might be worth getting the Letter to at least tell you where the frame and any parts that match it might have started out it's service life.

Edit - $300 for a letter????

Screw that

I'd just ask around about it on the Colt forum and get a production date for it . There's probably not much more worth $300 to find out about it unless it has some crazy provenance

 

[fireman1]

They have a cool stickied thread over on the Colt forum. It is 1860's that are lettered. They have one list that is 3 numbers lower than the grip/frame on the one I'm buying. They also have one that is about 125 #'s lower than the barrel. Both were sent to the same volunteer MD cavalry regiment. So my best theory is that the parts were swapped by troopers sitting around camp cleaning guns one day.

 

[fireman1]

Brought it home today.

 

[fireman1]

 

[Stantheman86]

They have a cool stickied thread over on the Colt forum. It is 1860's that are lettered. They have one list that is 3 numbers lower than the grip/frame on the one I'm buying. They also have one that is about 125 #'s lower than the barrel. Both were sent to the same volunteer MD cavalry regiment. So my best theory is that the parts were swapped by troopers sitting around camp cleaning guns one day.

It would be crazy if someone had an 1860 with the matching barrel and or cylinder as your frame on the Colt Forum

It would feel wrong to swap them back since the parts had been together since the war

It very well might have been a case of guys just putting guns together from parts in a pot of boiling water

Or after it was used by that Cavalry regiment it stayed in service , and parts got swapped around later

 

[fireman1]

It would be crazy if someone had an 1860 with the matching barrel and or cylinder as your frame on the Colt Forum

It would feel wrong to swap them back since the parts had been together since the war

It very well might have been a case of guys just putting guns together from parts in a pot of boiling water

Or after it was used by that Cavalry regiment it stayed in service , and parts got swapped around later

I thought the same thing.....that would be wild. However I agree. I would not separate the parts. They have been together too long.

 

[Stantheman86]

I thought the same thing.....that would be wild. However I agree. I would not separate the parts. They have been together too long.

I remember 20+ years ago on forums like Parallax Bill's, people would post things like "Wanted: Bolt #AC7974 for French Berthier rifle"

I'd be like, your rifle was probably used for most of WWI and possibly all of WWII with that bolt that is patina matched and broken in to that rifle , if in that one in a million shot find the guy with the other rifle that matches your bolt you should just exchange pics and keep those rifles the way they are

 

[Boston Bill]

1974 MODEL 1851 NAVY (2ND GENERATION COLT RE-ISSUE)
This is for some comparison. I also had a question and was told by someone in the know. What is the difference between the original and the second gen. Apparently the arbor is rounded on the original and flat on the 2nd gen. Apparently it is a manufacturing difference.

 

[Boston Bill]

Otherwise they seem to look the same. The scratches on the cylinder I believe was due to a loose arbor. Its hard to see but it is the naval scene and was signed by the engraver ( forget his name, gun not in front of me ). Who knows what the previous owner did to it. I am not in the antiquing club to start with. But to do this with a 2nd gen Colt to me is just a crime.

 

[Boston Bill]

And then the owner scratched his name and town and some kind of date into it! Under the barrel and bottom of the grip frame. I got it for a good price, had it fixed up and its a great shooter