over 30 cals., six shot single action revolver, three standard barrel lengths. The 4 ¾ in. barrel had a two line address, while the 5 ½ in. and 7 ½ in. had a one line address. Blue with color case hardened frame or full nickel finish wer...
.32 cal. revolver and .41 cal. buckshot shotgun barrel, pivoting hammer nose fires cylinder perc. nipples, or shot barrel nipple on frame, single action open top frame, 9 shot unfluted cylinder revolves around shot barrel, 4 1/4 in. rifled ...
small square back trigger guard, top wedge screw, serial range 1250-4000.
small square back trigger guard, bottom wedge screw, serial range 1-1250. RF=3.
full length cylinder flutes and no cylinder scene, 7 1/2 or 8 in. barrel, grips of Navy (very rare) or Army size, usually 4 screw frames. Serial range 3-8000. Approx. 4,000 produced. RF=2.
.28 cal., single action, 2 1/2-4 3/4 in. octagon barrel, 5 shot cylinder, varnished walnut grips, folding trigger, serial range 1 to approx. 500. Standard barrel marking "Patent Arms M'g Co. Paterson N.J.-Colt's Pt.", Centaur scen...
.28 cal., single action, 2 1/2-4 3/4 in. octagon barrel marked "Patent Arms M'g Co. Paterson NJ.-Colt's Pt.", 5 shot rounded or square rear cylinder, blue metal finish, varnished walnut grips, folding trigger, without attached loa...
.44 cal., square butt, top strap, usually has conventional fluting on cylinder, but some have scoop flutes, 7 in. round barrel with no rib.
serial range 1001 to approx. 1100. Similar to military model except Govt. inspectors' marks were not applied. Pricing is difficult on the civilian issue arms. They tend to be in considerably better condition than the much more common milita...
.31 cal., 4 1/2 in. round barrel, included in same serial range as Model 6.
.31 cal., 3 1/2 in. round barrel, stagecoach hold-up cylinder scene, "COL. COLT NEW-YORK" barrel address. Cylinder pin retained by screw-in cylinder. Serial range 11075 through 14000.
.31 cal., 4 1/2 in. round barrel, including same cylinder scene, barrel address and serial range as Model 7.
.44 cal., 6 shot, 7 1/2 and 8 in. round barrels with loading lever, blue metal with case hardened frame, lever and hammer, one-piece walnut grips, normally blue steel backstrap and brass trigger guard, barrel markings were "ADDRESS SAM...
roll engraved Texas Naval battle scene, some with early Hartford address, Army grips, four screw frame to about 50,000 range, most were sold to the U.S. Government and will be martially marked.
same general configurations as Round Cylinder model, but with 3 screw frame, no shoulder stock cuts and better blue finish than military pieces, late New York barrel address.
.36 cal., 6 shot, 7 1/2 in. round barrel with loading lever, blue metal with case hardened frame, lever and hammer, silver plated brass grip straps, the barrel address was "ADDRESS COL. SAM COLT, NEW YORK, U.S. AMERICA", serial ra...
in serial range 1-100, with fluted cylinder and without rolled cylinder scene.
will bear the U.S. stamp and inspector's marks, those marked U.S.N. on butt were of a 650 piece order for the Navy. RF=4.
.36 cal., 4 screw frame, made for third style stock (see Dragoon stocks). Approx. 100 mfg. in the 11000-14000 serial range. RF=5+.
.36 cal., 5 shot half fluted and rebated cylinder, 4 1/2, 5 1/2, and 6 1/2 in. round barrels (also 3 1/2 in. barrel but quite rare) and loading lever. Mfg. 1861-1873. Serial numbered with Model 1862 Pocket Navy, approx. 28,000 1862 Police M...
.36 cal., percussion, SA, 5 shot cylinder, "ADDRESS SAM COLT/HARTFORD CT" barrel address, one-piece walnut grips, silvered iron or silvered brass grip straps, blue metal with case hardened frame, lever, and hammer.
with "L" below serial numbers (for export to England), steel grip straps. Most often but not always bearing British proofs.
similar to above, except with "ADDRESS, COL. COLT/LONDON" address on barrel.
.36 or .38 cal., 5 shot rebated cylinder, 4 1/2, 5 1/2, and 6 1/2 in. octagonal barrels with loading lever. Blue with case hardened frame, lever and hammer, grip straps silver plated brass, one-piece walnut grips. Standard barrel markings &...
with "L" below serial numbers (for export to England), steel grip straps. Often found with British proofs.
similar to above but "ADDRESS COL. COLT/LONDON" address on barrel.
.31, .36, or .44 centerfire cal., less than 5,000 produced in all models. This was Colt's first commercial attempt at converting percussion revolvers to fire fixed ammo. Standard features: usually threaded inside rammer for a Thuer loading ...
the most common Thuer, but popular because it's a large frame model.
.44 centerfire cal., produced circa 1870s, special machining to barrel and breech of cylinder for conversion to a cartridge weapon. Produced in three serial ranges: one numbered under 10000, a separate group generally in the 190000 to 20000...
integral rear sight on breechplate, floating firing pin in breechplate, front edge of barrel lug is same as 1860 Percussion Army, breechplate extends over rear edge of cylinder.
standard Richards type barrel. A space between face of conversion ring and rear of cylinder when viewed from the side. No integral sight on breechplate, cut away at top allowing hammer to directly strike the cartridge.
generally the same as the Second Model Richards except cylinder has extra "safety" notches between the locking notches. This variation was usually produced in the 100-300, 1000-1700, and 200000 serial ranges. Cylinder locking notc...
generally the same as First Model Richards (many minor differences), converted at Springfield Armory. Has "U.S." stamped on left barrel lug and "A" (Ainsworth) inspector marks in several places. They are converted 1860 p...
.44 centerfire cal., overall much rarer than Richards Army Conversions. A rare variation has an 1860 Army rebated cylinder and a barrel with a lug shaped similar to 1861 Navy Conversion, breechplate without integral rear sight, cutout at to...
.38 centerfire and rimfire cal., has improved Richards-Mason breechplate that is flush with diameter of recoil shield. Difficult to locate in prime condition. Produced in two different serial ranges circa 1870s.
Richards-Mason breechplate which is same diameter as recoil shield, octagon barrel, mirrored civilian blue. Nickel finish commonly seen.
Richards-Mason breechplate, oiled grips, soft blue military finish, produced in U.S., percussion range of 40000-90000. Inconsistent "U.S.N." and other inspector markings. Iron straps, "U.S." on frame. RF=1.
7 1/2 in. round barrel, produced in civilian and military versions, made in rimfire and centerfire cal. in two serial ranges. Mfg. circa 1870s.
Richards-Mason breechplate, round 7 1/2 in. barrel with attached ejector housing, unrebated cylinder. When blue, has a commercial high gloss finish.
soft military blue finish, oiled grips, converted from percussion U.S. Navy revolvers, inconsistent military markings, centerfire, set of extra serial numbers often seen on cylinder.
.38 rimfire and centerfire cal., parts for 1862 Police, Pocket Navy, as well as 1849 Pockets are often intermixed. As parts bins were depleted, Colt used whatever components that would fit, resulting in a tremendous amount of minor variatio...
4 1/2 in. octagon barrel without ejector. Rebated Pocket Navy Cylinder.
plug in rammer slot, ejector housing, loading cutout in right side of lug, barrel remachined from Pocket Navy percussion barrel, Pocket Navy rebated cylinder. Similar appearance to cartridge barrel variation.
4 1/2, 5 1/2, or 6 1/2 in. barrels with 1862 Police percussion profile and added ejector housing. Has rebated Pocket Navy cylinder or rarer half fluted 1862 Police cylinder. 6 1/2 in. barrel will bring a premium.
1862 Police profile barrel with ejector housing and rebated 1862 Pocket Navy cylinder.
1862 Police profile barrel with ejector housing and 1/2 fluted Police cylinder.
.38 rimfire or centerfire cal., sometimes seen with serial numbers that are from 1849 Pocket Model (300,000 range). Barrel newly made for cartridges, not converted from a percussion barrel, only type conversion with 3 1/2 in. barrel. No eje...
.38 rimfire and centerfire cal., 4 1/2, 5 1/2, or 6 1/2 in. barrels produced as a cartridge component without rammer slots and lug cutouts inherent to a percussion barrel, much shorter lug area than similar model converted from percussion b...
.44 rimfire cal., 6 shot, 7 1/2 in. barrel, without frame topstrap, blue metal with case hardened hammer, serial range 1-approx. 7000, barrel address "ADDRESS COL. SAM COLT, NEW YORK, U.S. AMERICA", forerunner of the single action...
7 1/2 in. barrel, New York address, Navy grips.
with address "COLT PT. F. A. MANUFACTURING CO., HARTFORD, CT., U.S.A."
.41 Short or Long rimfire cal., cloverleaf configured 4 shot cylinder, spur trigger, 1 1/2 or 3 in. barrel, blue or nickel plated, approx. 7,500 mfg. in ser. no. range 1-8300 during 1871-1876. RF=2.
similar to 4 shot model, except has round 5 shot cylinder and 2 5/8 in. barrel only. Approx. 2,500 mfg. in ser. no. range 6160-9950 during 1871-1876. RF=3.
these were all civilian variations of the Model 1892, military model (.38 Long Colt only) and values are shown above for these civilian guns.
similar to 1889 Navy, but double cylinder notches, double locking bolts, and shorter flutes, square cyl. release thumb catch, hard rubber grips, .38 Short and Long Colt, and .41 Short and Long Colt cal., 3, 4 1/2, and 6 in. barrel, blue or ...
.38 Short and Long Colt, and .41 Short and Long Colt cal., 3, 4 1/2, and 6 in. barrel, blue (military and civilian) or nickel (civilian only) finish, wood (U.S. Navy) or hard rubber (civilian) grips with the world "Colt" in oval a...
.32 Colt cal., otherwise similar to the Model 1877 Lightning. Approx. 300 (rarely found) mfg. from 1877-1909. RF=5+
.32-20 WCF (scarce), .38 Colt (approx. 40 mfg.), .38-40 WCF, .41 LC (scarce, 308 mfg.), .44 Russian, .44 S&W, .44-40 WCF (Colt Frontier Six Shooter), .45, .450 Eley, .455 Eley, or .476 Eley cal., 2 1/2 (scarce), 3 1/2, or 4 in. barrels ...
.41 Colt cal. only, otherwise same general specifications as Model 1877 Lightning.
.38 Colt cal., 1 1/2, 2, 2 1/2, 3, 3 1/2, 4, 4 1/2, or 6 in. barrels without ejector, 4 1/2, 5, 6, 7, or 7 1/2 in. barrels with ejector, 6 shot double action, long cylinder fluting, blue finish with case hardened frame and hammer, full nick...
Must be authenticated and confirmed by 1896 Colt factory letter.
throughout military contract production, a small percentage of SAAs did not pass inspection and were condemned, receiving a large "C" stamped on the frame, just over the serial number. These guns were set aside, and later complete...
according to John Kopec's Cavalry and Artillery Revolvers Kopec's "Cavalry and Artillery Revolvers" there are a small group of known cavalry revolvers that were part of a large surplus of civilian SAAs inspected and accepted by the governme...
these are the very first of the U.S. Cavalry models to be recorded in the Colt records and the first ones that can be lettered by the factory. Slightly more than 2,000 were delivered under government contract, and were inspected by John T. ...
in 1895 before work began on the artillery models, Colt refurbished 800 SAA revolvers supplied by Springfield Armory, especially for the New York State Militia. These guns retained their 7 ½ inch barrels and all original parts wherever pos...
refers to U.S. government model SAA revolvers with 5 1/2 in. barrels, which were reworked and refinished between 1896 and 1903. In response to growing dissatisfaction with the stopping power of the newly adopted M1892 .38 LC cal. double act...
this was the last of U.S. Single Action production. Four thousand were inspected by Rinaldo A. Carr during this sixteen month period. As hostilities in the west subsided, demand decreased and many revolvers of this group went to state milit...
when military production resumed in the 30,000 serial range, the principal sub-inspectors during this eleven year period were John T. Cleveland (J.T.C.), Henry Nettleton (H.N.), and David F. Clark (D.F.C.). Starting in 1876, the marking pro...
principal sub-inspectors of this early period used only the first letter of their last name to mark the revolvers which they inspected. Chronologically, they were O.W. Ainsworth (A), Samuel B. Lewis (L), W.W. Johnson (J), and A.P. Casey (C)...
the Colt SAA was the primary sidearm of the U.S. military forces between 1873 and 1892. While frequently called the "cavalry" model, this revolver was carried by non-commissioned officers in the regular army and the state militias, and issu...
Included in the approximate 3,400 factory engraved SAAs, there are a small number of one of a kind, custom special ordered guns. These are, of course, well documented in the Colt held factory archives by serial number and can be accessed th...
as with percussion revolvers and derringers, Colt shipped Single Action Army revolvers to England for sale through its London Agency. John Kopec, co-author of A Study of the Colt Single Action Army Revolver, estimates that 18% of production...
the italic style of lettering in the barrel address is changed to a block letter style in the 22000 range, the first two-piece Gutta Percha grips with eagle motif appear in 1882 and became the standard by 1888, the .44-40 (.44 WCF) caliber ...
three line patent date format changes to two lines with three dates, circled rampant Colt trademark is added to left side of frame, grips transition from wood and rubber with eagle to plain two-piece rubber by 1892, and caliber designation ...
several important physical characteristics were changed during this transition period. Most notably, in 1896 the vertical screw retaining the cylinder pin was eliminated in favor of the horizontal latch. This was identical to what had alrea...
