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LOT 198
Fine U.S. Colt Pre-First Model “Fluck/Walker Replacement” Dragoon Percussion Revolver - Serial no. 2182, 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 Walker 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 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 has the Indian and Texas Rangers battle scene and remnants of “MODEL U.S.M.R./COLT’S PATENT”. The full and partial matching serial number is marked on the barrel, frame, cylinder, cylinder pin, trigger guard and butt. The period replacement wedge is numbered “3018” and the period replacement loading lever is numbered either “18” or “81”. CONDITION: Fine, retains 40% original blue finish concentrated on the barrel with smooth gray patina on cylinder with visible scene, half of the strong patterns of the attractive original muted case colors visible on the frame with smooth gray patina on the balance, a few patches of minor pitting, mostly defined markings, and bright golden patina on the lightly cleaned brass. The refinished grip is very good, with general mild wear and some dents, chips and scratches underneath the applied oil finish. Mechanically fine. This fine example of a U.S. Colt Pre-First Model “Fluck/Walker Replacement” Dragoon revolver would make an excellent addition to any Colt collection! Estimate: 9,500 - 16,000
LOT 199 Fine Civil War Era Colt Model 1849 Pocket Percussion Revolver with Attractive Grip - Serial no. 184115, 31 cal., 4 inch octagon bbl., blue/casehardened/silver finish, antique ivory grips. Manufactured in 1861. The Model 1849 Pocket was the most popular of all of Colt’s percussion revolvers. They would certainly have been more convenient for those needing some personal protection in the gold fields and saloons of the West as well as the crowded and crime riddled streets of the large cities in the East compared to the larger Colt Dragoon revolvers or mid-sized Model 1851 Navy and definitely packed more firepower than many of the single and double shot pocket pistols of the day. During the Civil War, many of these were also carried as personal sidearms. The barrel has the two-line Hartford address. “COLTS/PATENT” is stamped on the left side of the frame. The cylinder has the stagecoach hold up scene. Matching full or partial serial numbers visible on the barrel, frame, trigger guard, butt, loading lever, wedge, cylinder and cylinder pin, and handwritten in black ink inside the mortise of the original special one-piece grip. CONDITION: Very fine, retains 70% original blue finish with smooth brown patina on the balance, 60% vivid original case colors with smooth gray and brown patina on the balance, scattered light freckling, 90% original silver plated finish with a slightly tarnished appearance on the trigger guard and grip straps, and sharp markings and cylinder scene. Grip is excellent with some light handling marks and distinct edges. Mechanically excellent. Estimate: 2,500 - 4,000
LOT 200
Desirable
Exceptional Early
Production U.S.
Contract William A.
Thornton Martially
Inspected Colt’s
Patent Dragoon
Revolver Powder Flask with Arnold
Chernoff Letter - This rare early Colt Dragoon
flask is incorrectly identified in the included
letter from Arnold Chernoff as a Colt Walker
flask. These flasks were thought to be Walker
flasks, but in “Colt Percussion Accoutrements
1834-1873,” Robin Rapley explains that while
similar to a Walker flask, this pattern of flask
is actually for Colt’s Dragoon revolvers that
followed the Walkers and were used until
1855 when the flasks switched to having the
sloped charges with thumb cut-offs. Unlike the
Walker flasks, the rings on the mortar in the design
are parallel, and the crossed revolvers that do not as
clearly show a pair of Walkers. The flask features the early plunger style
charger, “COLTS/PATENT” in an ovoid shape on the ball compartment, a
double stamped “WAT” (William Anderson Thornton) inspection mark, and a “P.”The flask features triangular suspension rings.
CONDITION: Extremely fine overall with mild age and storage related wear, mostly tight seams with only slight separation, and attractive aged patina. Provenance: The Arnold Chernoff Collection; Property of a Gentleman. Estimate: 5,500 - 8,500 205