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THE VERY LAST COLT 1851' NAVY Revolver Made in the 1860's!!!!!
Guns International #: 101642718 Seller's Inventory #:
Category: Antique Revolvers - Percussion - Colt Revolvers - Antique Percussion
Seller's Information
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Seller: Brent Wilburn
Company: Antique Arms, Inc.
Member Since: 11/19/15
First Name: Brent
Last Name: Wilburn
State: Georgia
Zip: 30052
Country: United States
Phone: (678) 471-1432
Phone2: (678) 471-1432
Premium Seller
Number of Active Listings: 34
Total Number of Listings: 577
Seller: Private Seller
Return Policy: 3 day inspection and return policy on used guns.
Payment Types Accepted: Money Order, Certified Check
Description:
SALE PENDING. This is the Very Last Colt 1851 Navy Made In The 1860's by the Colt Factory According To R.L. Wilson's Colt's Dates of Manufacture. It is Serial Number 209,999 with Serial Number 210,000 starting the new decade of 1870. It's just a standard Colt Navy Percussion Revolver in .36 Caliber with a 7 1/2" Octagon Barrel, Plain Grips, and not much original finish remaining. However, symbolically-speaking, it represents not only an end to an important decade in American history but also the twilight of the percussion era which was all but over by the early 1870's. The 1860's was a tough decade for Colt that started off with a boom of orders just prior to and throughout most of the Civil War but those gains quickly evaporated with Sam Colt's untimely death at the age of 47 in early 1862. The next two years saw significant orders as war production rose for both the Miltiary and Commerical markets. Unfortunately, 2 years later in 1864, most of the Colt Factory destroyed in a fire that all but halted production. Rather than go out of business, Colt's Widow, Elizabeth Jarvis Colt vowed to rebuild her husband's factory in hopes she could preserve his legacy. Without her devotion, Colt would not exist today. Another blow came in 1865 when Colt President Elijah K. Root (Yes, the guy Colt named the Root Revolver after) who had been with Sam Colt since even before his Paterson Era Days died in September 1865. Somehow, Colt survived the latter 1860's in a poor post Civil War Gun Market that was flooded with military surplus and not being unable to produce newly designed cartridge revolvers as Competitor S&W had control of the Rollin White Patent. Colt was stuck in limbo producing every shrinking quantities of Percussion Revolvers that fewer and fewer customers wanted. You look at a year like 1863 at Colt's flagship models in which Colt produced 43,000 Model 1851 Navies, 27,000 Model 1849 Pockets, and 65,000 Colt 1860 Armies, and then look at production figures for those same models in 1869. That year, Colt produced just 3,000 Model 1851 Navies...this one being the last of that year, 10,000 Model 1849 Pockets, and 8,000 Model 1860 Armies. The Civil War was over and the Percussion Era was rapidly coming to a close. That said, this gun represents the very last 51' Navy made in that decade although Colt would lumber on to produce another 5000 Navies when production finally ended in 1873 with sales so slow that many of them remained in inventory for years and were later converted to cartridge revolvers. We found this Colt at the Kansas City show a couple of Summers ago. I remember buying it along with a pretty decent and early 4 Screw 1860 Army Revolver. The grips still show about 80% original varnish while the metal is mostly silvery grey and appears to have been lightly cleaned. Good traces of original blue under the loading lever which has some good case colors remaining on the fulcrum and even some traces of original colors on the frame in protected areas. The Cylinder has 75% of its original roll-engraved scene intact. Good markings throughout. Mechanics are Excellent and the bore is Good Plus Overall with strong rifling and the usual array of light scattered pits associated with most percussion weapons from the black powder era. It has matching numbers on the barrel, frame, trigger guard, backstrap, arbor pin, grips except the workmen at Colt stamped the first digit of "999" on the cylinder upside down resulting in it reading "699". It is unquestionably THE ORIGINAL CYLINDER to this gun. The loading lever and barrel wedge are unmarked with is 100% correct for a Colt 1851 Navy produced from the mid-1860's to the end of production in 1873. You'll see the same thing on Colt 1849 Pocket Revolvers from this era as well. Overall, this one is in NRA Antique Good Plus to Very Good Condition with a truly unique serial based on R.L Wilson's Dates of Colt Manufacture. Antique, Pre-1898. No FFL Required in most states excluding NJ, NYC, Chicago, DC, and HI. Buyer must be 21 years old and a law-abiding citizen of the United States. 25.00 shipping.
SOLD
Antique: Yes
Manufacturer: Colt
Model: 1851
Serial Number: 209,999