Help identify old colt 5 shot revolver?
 

A friend at work just inherited two pistols. One of them is an older H&R revolver an the other is a colt. I was thinking it might be a dragoon but the pictures don't match up? Any thoughts on what this is and or the value of it? Safe to shoot?

colt 5 shot, 5 inch octagon barrel
horse and carriage artwork on cylinder.
Serial Number: 177078


http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...le/colt2-1.jpg

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...le/colt1-1.jpg

Dreiluger, it's an 1851 Colt Navy that looks to be in pretty good shape. If the numbers all match, including the wedge, it looks like a $2500 Colt to me.

I posted it on another board and they think it is a Colt 1849 Pocket Revolver, caliber .31. Did the 1851 have the stagecoach markings?

I think the 1849 does not have the reloading thingy, although i was thinking it was a 1849 also. These vary in price a lot, from $650 for a pretty lousy example to up to $2500 like doc said.


Ed

I agree this is a 1849 pocket model. The 1851 I believe had a 71/2 " barrel. The 49 was made with and without attached loading levers. Nice firearm. Bill

You guys are GOOD! I thought it was an 1849 too... but mike'ing the barrel will tell the story for sure... if its's .36 caliber it is a cut down 1851, if it is smaller than that (.31) then it's an 1849.

I just love that Colt.. would swim over the atlantic if I knew I would get my hands on one of those!
Take good care of it Dreiluger! ..or sell it to me;)

Allen,
You have what appears to be an 1849 model Colt. As John S stated, it would be in 31 caliber. The fact that it is a five shot and has the "stagecoach" scene leaves no doubt as to it's identity. I don't have access to serial number records at this time but believe it was manufactured around 1860. Colt made over 300,000 of this model over about 23 years so there are many slight variations. With the exception of a 3" barreled variation, I believe the rest did have loading levers. At least it was the norm.
Looks to be in pretty good shape, though it appears to be missing the nipple on the chamber closest to the camera.

over 350,000 were made. end of production was 1875. sr# 115711 was made in 1856 so i would guess yours 117078 would have been made in 1856 or 1857. they made a 3 1/2, 5 ,and 6 in barrel. they were used in the Calif. gold rush, the civil war, and in the old west. they all had loading levers as they were cap and ball gun,s. i had one for years. a great looking gun and a big part of our history. if it were mine i would not shoot it.
value? from the pic,s i would guess $800 to $1800. it look,s great from here.

Louis,
Allen wrote that the serial number is 177078, your guess (117078)was for a revolver 60,000 earlier. You may want to check your sources. This model was manufactured in 1850 around serial#12000 and ending in 1873 around #340000. Barrel lengths started with the 3" (collector named "Wells Fargo"model without loading lever) and generally included 4,5, and 6"lengths. There were variations so I would not count out an additional 1/2" on any of the above lengths.

Another forum pointed me to this page with colt serial numbers.

http://proofhouse.com/colt/1849pocket.htm

Rich, Boy did i screw that up, im sorry. i guess my eyes aint what it use to be. you are right. i was thinking sr# 117078. it,s been a while sence i traded my 1849 P/M colt. i was trying go by my memory which is about like my eye sight. and i did forget about the Wells Fargo model. i will try and do better in the future. Thanks.

Louis,
I understand completely. They say memory is the first thing to go, I can't remember what's next :D I'm just glad I could help. I don't often contribute but percussion and early cartridge arms used to be a big interest of mine.

There is "safe to shoot" and then there is "wise to shoot". Even if the gun is safe to shoot (probably not), it is definitely not wise to shoot it.
Any damage that might occur diminishes its value. If you want to shoot such a weapon, buy a replica. They are readily available, made with better materials than the originals and cheap, cheap, cheap! You can get an Italian replica for about $200. If you break it you just buy replacement parts, also plentiful, and you're ready to go again. If you break that original, you'll never forgive yourself.

I own 22 black powder replicas and there is nothing more fun to shoot.

BTW, don't waste any money on the overpriced Colt replicas of their own guns. These are just the same Italian copies with a slightly better fit and finish. Colt buys them from Italy in the white, finishes them and stamps their name on them. Then they add a price tag that would impress J.P. Gotrocks.

Sorry if i'm stealing the thread.. But what is you guys thoughs on this one http://www.qxl.no/accdb/viewitem.asp?IDI=530269640 ?
Tossed in a bid in my eager to get one, but it strikes me now that it might be a repro..

Doesn't look functional to me. That is not Colt. What is it? I do not understand Norwagian

Sorry about not translating the text.. the seller doesn't say that much usefull about it anyway. Just that the trigger and main spring is missing and that it does not require a lisence since it's pre 1870 fabrication. I'm having second thoughts about my bid now.. :rolleyes: My dream would be to find the twin gun to the one posted in this thread some day

Steinar,

It's hard to tell anything from the one blurry picture.
Surest signs it might be a fake: blurry picture and high price.

You should know there are a LOT of fakes out there.

How much does your bid translate to in dollars?

I set a maximum bid of 364 in USD, would be a bargain if it was genuine. But I have no interest in a repro.. so I'm not feeling very smart right now :rolleyes:
The cylinder looks longer on the one I found btw, not sure what that means.

Steinar,

Fortunately you're not out too much if the thing turns out to be a toad. Just pray someone outbids you.
Since there is so much fakery going on with these guns my advice would be to befriend an expert in percussion arms and buy only with his approval... sort of like what I did here on the LF! {grin}

Steinar,

Although I agree that this gun is not a Colt manufacture, it may still be as old as the seller claims. A colt mainspring and trigger spring should be adaptable IMHO to make this gun functional. You may not have wasted your money just yet. We will keep you in prayer that you don't get cheated. But if this gun is really made before 1870 and not just designed before that date, it may be ever rarer that a Colt of that vintage. Please keep us informed on the auction progress, and if you end up with this gun, Please post a good photo essay on the parts and we will investigate it's origin further.

Since you are high bidder, why not ask the seller to send you good clear photos of any stamps or markings on this gun. Perhaps the origin will be easier to ascertain.

Steinar, what did you find out about the old cap and ball 5 shot?

I asked the seller to withdraw my bid on this item, and it was ok by him.

I believe it might be a post 1870 fabrication.. Any gun produced after that year, needs a license here in Norway. And as you guys probably know, that's not so easy to obtain, even for an active shooter like me. I 'could' in theory get a license for it, but then I would have to document participation in shooting competitions including that particular calibre. Wich raises the question; 'do I feel comfortable shooting this old thing?' Nah.. I rather not..
Sounds silly perhaps, but I don't want to risk owning a possibly post 1870 made firearm without a license, even if it's a pre 1870 model. These things are strict 'over here'.. so I don't want to be in any gray area concerning this.
Still not given up my dream of finding an original pre 1870 Colt to hang on the wall, it was just not this one :)

Would something like this cut in? Look at the second set of pics.

http://forum.lugerforum.com/showthre...threadid=17822

Missed this thread
 

Hi Allan,

Well you drop off the forum for a couple weeks - and I just about missed out on this discussion of your old Colt percussion. I'll throw in my $ 0.02 late.

As the rest of the board has commented - It's the 1849 pocket model in .31 cal.

I have my Grandads - as I also posted in the other thread listed.
Your stage coach hold-up scene roll mark on the cylinder has held up better than mine has.

I once found a detailed description on the web of that scene and the name of the engraver that did the original work for Colt. It was a marketing feature depicting a traveler defending hismself from several bad guys with the multi shot revolver. I had to look it up because on mine it's barely visible thru the wear & patina.

I don't think mine is up for shooting - but I have seen shooting replicas of the 1849 pocket models for sale in local shops for less than $200, and considered buying one.

The serial number link you provided gave a more granular year of production figures than I have seen before. Mine falls into the 1856 production range in that chart.

Regards,
Fritz.
Here's the picture of mine:
http://forum.lugerforum.com/lfupload...9_small_l_.jpg