Page 215 - 4090-BOOK2

were not replacements for broken Walkers or made from recycled or repaired Walker
components as Fluck had theorized. In “Debunking the Fluck Myth: Colt Legends Die Hard” by Salzer for the American Society of
Arms Collectors in 2019, the author notes that these revolvers are actually the first Dragoons sold to the government, and “The
obvious conclusion is that Colt, for reasons of completeness perhaps, chose to number the guns made for the second government
contract in a closed, out-of-sequence series, beginning with 2001 and continuing to 3000. That left him with a gap in his civilian production between 1340 and
2000 which he subsequently filled with later production guns.”The revolver has the distinctive First Model style oval cylinder stops and brass square-back trigger guard.
The top of the barrel flat has a nickel-silver blade front sight and is marked “ADDRESS SAMl COLT, NEW-YORK CITY” reading from the breech to the muzzle with the first few
letters removed where the period dovetailed rear sight resides. “COLT’S/PATENT/U.S.” is marked on the left of the frame. The cylinder is has the Indian and Texas Rangers battle
scene and remnants of “MODEL U.S.M.R./COLT’S PATENT”. The complete matching serial number is marked on the barrel, frame, cylinder, trigger guard, and butt. Unnumbered
cylinder pin. The period replacement wedge is numbered “285”, and the period replacement loading lever is numbered “421”.
CONDITION: Very good, retains 40% period blue finish with smooth gray and brown patina on the balance and scattered patches of light to mild pitting, a faintly visible cylinder scene and otherwise defined markings in the metal. Period added dovetailed rear sight on top of the barrel. The refinished grip is good with mild general overall wear and scattered scratches. Mechanically fine. Dragoons are important to collectors of antique American revolvers in general, and collectors of Colts in particular as one of Samuel Colt’s large “holster pistols” descended from the famous Colt Walker.
Estimate: 6,500 - 9,500
According to "The Book of Colt Firearms", approximately 4000 Colt 1860 Army revolvers were produced with a fluted cylinder
LOT 1289 Desirable Civil War Fluted Cylinder Colt Model 1860 Army Percussion Revolver - Serial no. 1392, 44 cal., 7 1/2 inch round bbl., blue/
casehardened/silver finish, walnut grips. This early Colt Model 1860 Army has the highly desirable early full fluted cylinder. While over 200,000 Colt Model 1860 Army Model revolvers were manufactured, only around 4,000 were manufactured with fluted cylinders, making this variation especially desirable. Some
of these distinctive Colts were even shipped to the South before and at the very beginning of the Civil War. Of the small amount of these fluted cylinder revolvers made, most of them were no doubt heavily used during the war, making surviving examples particularly scarce. Features the one-line Hartford barrel address,
“COLTS/PATENT” frame marking, frame cut for a shoulder stock, fluted cylinder with faint remnants of the 1850 patent date marking, and matching serial number “1392” marked on the barrel, frame, trigger guard, butt, cylinder and wedge, the cylinder pin is unnumbered but appears correct, two of the cylinder chambers
are still period loaded, and the right grip panel has an inlaid silver shield. CONDITION: Good, exhibiting mostly smooth brown patina overall on the iron with some scattered patches of mild oxidation and light pitting, retains 60% original silver plating
on the trigger guard with bright patina on the exposed brass. Broken/partially absent spring piece in the wedge. Grip is very good with mild edge wear and handling marks. Mechanically fine.
Estimate: 2,750 - 4,250
213
LOT 1288
U.S. Colt Pre-First Model “Fluck/Walker Replacement” Dragoon Percussion Revolver - Serial no. 2712, 44 cal., 7 1/2 inch part round bbl., blue/
casehardened finish, walnut grips. This revolver was manufactured in 1848 and falls into the reported 2001 to 3000 serial number range for the “Walker Replacement Dragoons”
identified by researcher John J. Fluck in 1956. He estimated 300 were made to replace
the Walker revolvers that had failed and indicated they were made for the U.S. military using original
parts and reworked parts. They are also known as “pre-First Model Dragoons” and “Second Contract Dragoons” and
are among the rarest of the roughly 19,000 Colt Dragoon revolvers. More recent research by Dick Salzer, David
Basnet, G. Maxwell Longfield, and others has changed our understanding of this model and shown that they
Walker