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.36 CALIBER THUER METALLIC CARTRIDGE – EXCELLENT
EXAMPLE OF A RARE EARLY COLT CONVERSION CARTRIDGE:
One of the early post-Civil War conversion designs which
were applied to the Colt Revolving Percussion Pistols,
the Thuer Conversion provided an avenue to circumvent
the barrier of the Rollin White patent for bored through
pistol cylinders which was exclusively held by the Smith
and Wesson Company.
Patented in 1868, Thuer’s design incorporated a cylinder
with rear tapering chambers – similar in concept to the
Burnside Carbine – into which metallic-cased, self
contained cartridges with a matching taper were loaded
from the front of the cylinder. Thuer designed the
cartridge cases to be reloadable, allowing the shooter
with a supply of bullets, powder and primers to reuse
the expended cartridge cases – a definite benefit for
the prospective customer venturing out on the expanding
Western Frontier.
Although not without its faults, and even with a limited
reception in the firearms market, the Thuer Conversion
promised one of the viable alternatives to the bored
through cylinder as long as the Rollin White Patent
stood. As the sage once said, “timing is everything”.
The need for, and the viability of, the Thuer Conversion
was eclipsed when White’s patent expired in December,
1869 and the bored through cylinder became available to
not only Colt, but to all other firearms manufacturers.
This .36 Caliber Thuer Metallic Cartridge is in
excellent condition, retaining the full form of the
bullet and the case and the primer is still present and
intact. Due to the very limited production of the
Thuer Converted Colt Pistols, and the relatively short
life those pistols enjoyed in service, the production of
this proprietary cartridge was very limited and
surviving specimens are fairly rare.
SOLD
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