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| Appraisal ID: | 209201 | |
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| Appraised On: | 28-06-2010 | |
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| Title: | Colt 1861 Navy | |
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| Date/Era/Period: | 1873 | |
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| Description: | Colt 1861 Navy Address Col. Sam Colt New-York US. America on top of barrel | |
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| Condition: | Good. Can see most of the engravings. All pieces serial match and works good. | |
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| Origin: | Grandfather had it in a drawer. Serial number 94171 Colt Pat # 8509 Pat ddate Sept 10th 1850 or 1853 | |
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| Appraised By: | Thomas LoPiano |
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| History Of The Item: | Ty for the opportunity to mappraise your Colt. This revolver is more correctly termed a Model 1860 Army revolver. As a matter of history, the Colt Army Model 1860 is a muzzle-loaded cap & ball .44-caliber revolver used during the American Civil War. It was favored as a side arm by cavalry, infantry, and artillery troops. The Colt 1860 Army uses the same size frame as the .36 caliber 1851 Navy revolver. The frame is relieved to allow the use of a rebated cylinder that enables the Army to be chambered in .44 caliber. Also, the barrel on the 1860 Army has a forcing cone that is visibly shorter than that of the 1851 Navy, allowing the Army revolver to have a longer cylinder. A major distinguishing feature introduced with the 1860 revolver was the "creeping" loading lever. This arrangement employs a cam interface between lever and barrel and ideally, prevents the lever from dropping and tying up the revolver if it should recoil loose from the barrel catch during firing. More than 200,000 were manufactured from 1860 through 1873. Colt's biggest customer was the US Government with over 127,000 units being purchased and issued to the troops. The weapon was a single-action, six-shot weapon accurate up to 75 to 100 yards, where the fixed sights were typically set when manufactured. The rear sight was a notch in the hammer, clearly visible only when the revolver was cocked. The Colt .44-caliber “Army" Model was one of the most widely-used revolvers of the Civil War. It had a six-shot, rotating cylinder, and fired a 0.454-inch diameter round lead ball, or a conical projectile, that was propelled by a 30 grain charge of black powder ignited by a copper percussion cap that contained a volatile charge of fulminate of mercury (a substance that explodes upon impact). The percussion cap, when struck by the hammer, ignited the powder charge. When fired, balls had a muzzle velocity of about 900 feet per second. The Colt's solid cylinder pin gave the Colt superior accuracy and consistency than the Remington revolvers. The Remington's cylinder pin is loose, which give it less accuracy and less consistency. Also the 1860 army had superior ballistics to any other revolver of the era. The cylinder swap takes around 7 seconds depending on skill. |
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| Appraiser Tips: | Cleaning Tips Valuable firearms and edged weapons should not be cleaned by amateur collectors however in keeping and preserving firearms tips can be given. Internal /external cleaning if needed . Use non-abrasive bronze wool with Hoppe's No. 9 copper solvent and use lubricating oil and patch for bore preservation. Non-abrasive cleaning is fine on blued surfaces but care in not touching areas where metal has been treated by color case hardening should not be touched for fear of damaging finish. Storage should be done with rust-proof plastic bagging rather than lined zipper cases which absorb moisture. Careful on any surfaces of daggers with any inlaid material and/or blued finish. |
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| Research Sources: | Best source for values: Blue Book of Values, Blue Book of Values, by Fjestad current 30th edition. Flayderman's Guide to Antique Firearms and their values, N. Flayderman Many dealer websites exist on internet which regularly advertise specimens such as these. Also internet auction sites such as: www.gunbroker.com www.auctionarms.com www.gunsamerica.com www.antiqueguns.com Best Reference: The Book of Colt Firearms, Sutherland & wilson |
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| Appraiser Comments: | Based on the images you have sent, your specimen appears to be a "civilian" model Colt 1860 Army .44 revolver. The civilian model is termed a "3-screw" model (see left side of frame and 3 screws evident). Military issues had an extra screw which potentially would be used to attach a shoulder stock (very few of them actually did) however the 4th screw would be there on military models. Although not always the case also military models would have a small "US" stamped on left side under the "Colts Patent" stamping. Military model would also have a "cartouche"-initials in script stamp into the wooden grips. It appears your specimen is in crisp condition although showing only "flashes" of blue in protected places. The cylinder "naval" scene appears all there as are markings. If all matching serial numbers, crisp finish, no rust or pitting, bore excellent, wood grips excellent and civilian model then value listed below for this revolver manufactured between 1863-64 during the Civil War. |
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This online appraisal is an expert's opinion of the item(s) depicted above based solely on images and information supplied by our customer. Additional information, not shown on this certificate, may have been taken into account for this online Appraisal. Please Note: Our service strives to include the best international authorities in their respective fields. While the appraiser may be an expert in rendering the valuation, please understand that they may not be completely fluent in English. * Current Fair Market Value is the amount someone might receive when selling their item to a dealer or at auction. It is also the amount most government tax agencies (IRS, Revenue Canada, Inland Revenue, etc.) recognize as the tax deductible amount were the item donated to a charitable organization. ** Replacement Cost is the retail amount one might reasonably pay to purchase the item from a dealer, gallery, store, etc. It is also the amount for which one may want to insure an item. For currency conversion go to http://www.xe.net/ucc/full.shtml Whatsitworthtoyou.com |
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