EXCEPTIONAL CONDITION RARE MODEL 1899 U.S. ARMY REVOLVER
Description:
2) EXCEPTIONAL CONDITION AND ONE OF THE RAREST, HARDEST TO FIND S&W MODELS, AND ONE OF THE RAREST U.S. MARTIAL ARMS! THIS IS A BEAUTY! MODEL 1899 U.S. ARMY REVOLVER, only 1,000 of these were ordered and issued in 1901, most surviving examples show very hard use and abuse, this was S&Ws only side swing revolver made in .38 Colt caliber. 1,000 were made for the Navy and 1,000 for the Army. Of these, the Army seems to be the most scarce. It is distinctive in that where the Navy model was marked with an anchor and Navy markings, it also had plain checkered walnut grips and no lanyard ring, the Army model had special checkered walnut grips with "J.T.T. 1901" stamped in the top part of the left grip and "K.S.M." stamped in the top part of the right grip. The butt is marked "U.S. ARMY" over "MODEL 1899" with a lanyard ring mounted between these markings. Many, if not most, of these surviving revolvers have had their chambers reamed out to accept the longer .38 Special ammo, this one IS STILL IN ORIGINAL .38 COLT CHAMBERING! Excellent plus walnut grips, in the correct serial range of 13,001 to 14,000 (serial number 135XX), much of the early bright high polish blue remains with some edge wear and thinning/browning on the cylinder, some thinning/browning on the side plate and a little muzzle wear, exc. markings and has the correct K.S.M. inspector stamp on the frame and cylinder, matching numbers, lanyard ring intact, still has good case color on the hammer and trigger, front sight not filed or altered, just enough wear and edge wear to show this one has never been re-blued or "helped" in any way, tight action, minty bright bore, As this is an issued military model, it would be hard to improve upon! (interestingly, there is good info on the commercial and military Model 1899 in Timothy Mullin's excellent book THE K FRAME REVOLVER, published by Collector Grade Publications, the U.S. Army model pictured in this book is no where close to this one in condition)
SOLD
Curio/Relic: Yes
Manufacturer:
Smith & Wesson
Model:
1899 U.S. Army
Serial Number:
135XX
Caliber Info:
.38 Colt
Condition:
fine+
Barrels:
6