Make: Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company
Model: Model 1860 Army
Serial Number: 71574
Year of Manufacture: 1862; factory shipped October 31, 1862 / Antique
Caliber: .44 Caliber
Action Type: Single Action Cap & Ball Percussion Revolver with 6-Shot Cylinder
Barrel Length: 8", Round
Sights / Optics: The front sight is a blade fixed near the muzzle. The rear sight is a notch in the hammer which is presented when the hammer is cocked.
Stock Configuration & Condition: The grip is one-piece wood with a dark aged appearance. The left side has been fitted with a curved vertical row of domed brass tacks. The grip shows substantial age and handling wear. The brass tacks have developed substantial age-related patina. There are no cracks. The grip has shrunk around the edges and there are minor losses. Overall, the grip rates in Fair antique condition.
Type of Finish: Blue/Brass, as documented by the Colt factory letter.
Finish Originality: Original. All serialized parts match.
Bore Condition: The bore is dark and pitted out. The bore rates 2/10.
Overall Condition: This revolver retains virtually none of its original blue finish. The iron surfaces have developed a dark brown, gray, and black patina with widespread oxidation and moderate to heavy pitting throughout. The barrel shows areas worn to gray metal amid the oxidation. The cylinder is heavily patinated and pitted, with its original scene and markings largely obscured. The frame, hammer, loading lever, and backstrap show substantial oxidation and pitting. The brass trigger guard has developed an aged yellow-brown patina with areas of green verdigris. The screw heads show age and some slot wear. There are scratches, nicks, dings, and other evidence of extensive age and use throughout. The loading lever, wedge, and major exterior components are present. Overall, this revolver rates in Fair antique condition.
Mechanics: The action does not function. The action is locked and non-operational due to corrosion.
Box, Paperwork & Accessories: This revolver is displayed in a wood-framed, glass-front presentation case with a red velvet-style interior. Also displayed with the revolver are a beaded moccasin and a carved effigy-style smoking pipe.
Also included is a Colt factory archive letter dated June 2, 2005. The letter documents serial number 71574 as a .44 caliber Model 1860 Army with an 8" barrel, blue/brass finish, and wood stocks. Colt records show the revolver was sold to the United States War Department and shipped to General N. B. Baker, Adjutant General, U.S. Quartermaster, Davenport, Iowa, on October 31, 1862, in a shipment of 1,200 revolvers.
Also included is a letter dated May 22, 1984 from Art Sovin to Gary L. Johnson concerning this exact serial number. Sovin states that he had previously purchased the revolver from a Florida doctor, who had acquired it from a Kansas gun dealer. According to Sovin, the Kansas dealer had obtained it from a construction company that discovered the Colt and what Sovin described as "Indian artifacts" while tearing down an old barn in Kansas. Sovin further expressed his opinion that the brass tacks indicated Native American use. This letter constitutes interesting collector provenance, but the barn discovery and claimed Native American association are anecdotal and have not been independently authenticated.
Our Assessment: The Colt Model 1860 Army was one of the defining percussion sidearms of the American Civil War and was purchased in large numbers for Federal service. Approximately 127,000 of these revolvers were purchased for use by Union forces and several of the Confederate states had obtained a few thousand before the start of the hostilities as well. This particular revolver is especially interesting because its Colt factory letter establishes an October 31, 1862 shipment to General N. B. Baker in Davenport, Iowa as part of a 1,200-gun War Department shipment. Nathaniel B. Baker served as Iowa's Civil War Adjutant General and was also assigned quartermaster and other military administrative responsibilities, giving the factory-documented destination genuine Civil War-era historical significance.
Today the revolver presents as a heavily used and extensively patinated Civil War Colt with little visible original finish, substantial oxidation and pitting, and a brass-tacked grip. Its strongest collector attributes are its unquestionably desirable Model 1860 Army configuration, 1862 Civil War shipment date on Halloween, Colt factory documentation, and documented shipment to Iowa's wartime military administration. The accompanying 1984 letter and display artifacts add considerable character and an intriguing history as finding Native American artifacts in Kansas construction sites has historically been very common. This will make a great addition to any Civil War or Antique collection.
