"COLT MODEL 1860 FLUTED ARMY PERCUSSION REVOLVER. SN 864. Cal. 44. Fine early Colt with 8" rnd bbl, Hartford address with German silver front sight. It has full fluted cylinder with serial number in one of flutes. It has 4-screw frame cut for shoulder stock with flat headed hammer screw & short stock screws. It has a silver plated brass trigger guard & iron backstrap with 1-pc Army size walnut grip. Top left of grip is stamped "51". Accompanied by a Colt factory letter showing that this revolver was shipped to Spies & Co., New York on April 22, 1861 in a shipment of 350 same type guns. Another fluted Army, SN 2862, was in the same order and is being sold elsewhere in this auction. It is likely that research will show that this order was destined for the south and probably Georgia as Spies, Kissan & Co. had connections and had done business with southern firms. A large number of these early 60 Armies were shipped to southern distributors and are usually considered as Confederate arms. CONDITION: Very fine. Bbl retains 50-60% strong orig blue with some holster pitting, mostly on left side. Rammer retains 60-70% dark case colors. Cylinder retains traces of glossy blue in flutes with balance flaked to a medium patina. There are a couple of spots of pitting in one of the flutes. Back of cylinder has four of safety pins that are partially prominent. Frame retains 50-60% faded case colors, stronger on left side with recoil shields faded to gray. Trigger guard retains about 85-90% strong orig silver and backstrap about 95% strong orig silver with some slight bubbling & flaking toward heel. Grip has a chipped toe & shows edge wear with light nicks & scratches and retains most of its orig varnish. Mechanics are crisp, strong bore with moderate to heavy pitting. 4-32325 JR361 (6,000-10,000)"
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