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MODEL 1860 COLT ARMY PISTOL – MANUFACTURED IN 1861
– US ARMY MARTIAL SPECIMEN FITTED FOR SHOULDER STOCK -
LEGIBLE INSPECTOR’S STAMPS AND DISCERNABLE
CARTOUCHE – VERY GOOD CONDITION- ONE SERIAL NUMBER DIGIT
AWAY FROM A GROUP OF THESE PISTOLS ISSUED TO THE 1ST
NEW JERSEY CAVALRY IN 1862:
Manufactured in the first
year of the Civil War in 1861, this Model 1860 Colt Army
Revolver was one of those produced under government
contract to arm the federal forces. Retaining all of
the original parts with matching serial numbers, and
retaining all of the inspector stamps, this veteran was
gently used and well cared for through the years, nickel
plated probably after the War, and it presents as a very
good example of these iconic Colts.
This Model 1860 Colt Army Revolver, serial number 14290,
is one digit away from a Colt Army bearing serial number
14291 which is recorded within a group of these pistols
which were issued to Company B of the 1ST New
Jersey Cavalry in May of 1862. While there is no
guarantee that this Colt was issued in that same group,
the close proximity of the serial number and that this
Colt bears government inspector’s stamps certainly
supports the premise that this Colt was “there”.
The mechanics of this pistol are excellent and the
hammer and trigger lock up tight at full cock. The
cylinder indexes properly, however there is some play in
the cylinder at full cock due to wear to the protruding
portion of the cylinder stop set in the bottom of the
cylinder cradle. This is not unusual and it could be
improved should the new owner choose to do so, but as it
presents the mechanics are much better than normally
encountered. The pistol components mate up properly
with no wiggle between the barrel and frame.
The bore is quite bright with distinct rifling and only
some isolated spots of light pitting, but nothing beyond
that expected in one of these early production pistols.
This Colt Army is well inspected indicating this pistol
was originally manufactured in the series of Colt Army’s
produced for the U.S. Army. The matching serial number
stamps are legible and present on the frame, backstrap,
cylinder, trigger guard, barrel and wedge. Inspector’s
initials are present on the trigger guard behind the
bow, on the back strap immediately behind the hammer, on
both sides of the barrel boss adjacent to the barrel
wedge slot, on the bottom of the barrel just forward of
the loading lever slot, the cylinder and the cylinder
spindle - all consistent with known inspector stamp
locations on US Army Model 1860 Colt Army’s. All of the
inspector marks, the barrel address, and frame stampings
are clear and legible.
The overall surfaces of the brass trigger guard are
smooth with no obvious signs of heavy wear or abuse.
The surfaces of the iron components have no evidence of
damage or abuse, and only minor traces of isolated
pitting. The cylinder retains much of the legible
scene, the chambers are clear and all six cones are
present and full form.
The screw heads all have
sharp edged, distinct slots with no sign of abuse or
wear.
The grips are in very good condition with an overall
smooth surface, a pleasant rich color, no significant
wear at the toe, and only the normally encountered
handling marks with no cracks or breaks. The left side
of the pistol’s grip is stamped with the inspector’s
cartouche, light but still discernable. The grip fits
very well with strong corners, no shrinkage, and an
excellent fit where it joins the metal edges.
Commensurate with the period of use, this Colt was
nickel plated. The plating must have been done early in
the life of the pistol as the metal surfaces are very
smooth without any pronounced pitting, and yet all of
the inspector stamps and the serial numbers are still
very legible without any of the loss of detail normally
associated with the heavy polishing required before
plating a pistol which had been heavily used.
Probably at the same time this pistol was plated, the
barrel was trimmed at the muzzle, reducing the overall
length to 7 3/8”. Due to the original 8” length of the
barrel, if these pistols were carried for any amount of
time by a mounted soldier, the motion of the horse and
the position of the holster on the soldier’s belt
abraded the edges of the muzzle. The muzzle often wore
completely through the toe of the holster, and then
would abrade directly against the saddle and other
pieces of the soldier’s equipment. This wear was seldom
evenly distributed around the circumference of the
barrel, leaving a lopsided muzzle which would have a
significant negative affect the accuracy of the pistol.
This was probably the case with this pistol and when the
owner had the pistol plated, the gunsmith trimmed and
crowned the barrel. This feature attests to the
continued use of this revolver after the Civil War.
So many of these US martial Model 1860 Colt Army Pistols
were exposed to the extremes of service during the War,
and later in the West either in the hands of Indian War
soldiers or the civilian frontiersmen, and they exhibit
every bit of that hard use. This is a very attractive
specimen that retains all of the original government
inspectors’ stamps and has survived in very nice
condition, was plated after the Civil War, and no doubt
continued to be carried after the War. This is an
interesting early war production Colt Model 1860
Revolver to add to your collection. (0209) $2750
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