Colt Single Action Army Revolver, Model 1873 "peacemaker" - United States - 1879

Colt Single Action Army Revolver, Model 1873 "Peacemaker"
United States
1879
Steel
Overall length: 25.5 cm; Barrel length: 4.5 inches
Caliber: .44/40

Round, rifled barrel, engraved with scrollwork and thunderbolts; remnants of marking on the top: “COLTS PT. F. A. MFG. Co HARTFORD CT. U.S.A.”
Steel frame engraved on the left side with “PAT. SEPT. 19. 1871. JULY 2. - 72. JAN. 19. - 75. ” and stamped “51590” twice on the underside; decorated throughout.
Trigger guard engraved with scrollwork, marked “44CF”.
Six-shot cylinder, six grooves and six notches.
Lock plate numbered “315.”
Grip stamped “51590.”
All parts bear the same serial number.
Single-action, percussion-fired mechanism.

In perfect condition.

This revolver is accompanied by a Colt appraisal letter issued on October 10, 1994, and an appraisal report from the Banc National d’Epreuve de Saint-Etienne dated September 19, 2023.

A model with similar engraving appears in R.L. Wilson’s *Colt Engraving*, page 277. This work was executed by Hartley & Graham in New York in 1880.
This piece may also have come from the Nimschke workshop or the Helfricht workshop at the Colt factory.

Text and photos © FCP CORIDON