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LOT 1232
Very Scarce and Desirable Civil War Confederate Spiller & Burr Percussion Revolver - Serial no. 1196, 36 cal., 7 1/8 inch octagon bbl., blue/bright finish, walnut grips. Around 700 Spiller & Burr percussion revolvers were manufactured in Atlanta, Georgia, circa 1862-1864. Around another 700 were manufactured at the Macon Armory after the firm was purchased by the Confederacy in January of 1864. Production started with a very optimistic government contract of about 15,000 revolvers in 1862. Production stopped in November 1864 due to Sherman’s March to the Sea. The revolver is patterned after the Whitney’s Navy Model and has a distinctive solid brass frame. The brass frame and trigger guard were polished brass, and the remaining surfaces were blued. “C.S” is stamped on the lower right side of the frame at the front. It features a post front sight, frame groove rear sight, six-shot cylinder with safety notches between the nipples like the Remington revolvers, and smooth walnut grips. The cylinder has the spiral twist visible in the metal which is similar to Damascus twist in shotgun barrels of the period; a feature noted in authentic revolvers. The bottom of the barrel and the butt are stamped “1196,” and the inside of the grips are hand marked “1196.” The loading lever is marked “18 59” with a faint number in the middle that appears to be another “8” and has a “0” further forward. CONDITION: Very good for a Confederate weapon with attractive aged patina on the brass frame and trigger guard, dark brown patina on the balance of the metal along with mild oxidation/pitting, replaced loading lever/cylinder pin, and moderate overall wear. There is some solder visible at the front face of the frame. The sanded and re-oiled grips are good, and there is a chip on the top right. Mechanically functions, although slightly out of time. Provenance: The Phillip Otto Clark Collection. Estimate: 13,000 - 19,000
LOT 1233
Confederate Texas Star Silver Inlaid Civil War Era Belgian Lefaucheux Single Action
Pinfire Revolver with Texas Pin and Holster - Serial no. 3007, 11 mm cal., 6 1/8 inch part octagon bbl., blue/casehardened finish, walnut grips. This Lefaucheux revolver has an eye-catching period silver
inlaid Texas star on the left grip panel that consists of “TEXAS” spelled
out around a circled “CS” marking of the Confederate States, and is accompanied by a period holster with an embossed star, presumably for Texas, on the
flap and a silver Texas star pin. The pair definitely appear to have grown together, with an unmistakable Texas aura. One may never come across another set like it. Lefaucheux
revolvers were one of the few handguns used by both the North and South during the Civil War that used self-contained metallic cartridges. Due to having limited manufacturing capabilities, the Confederacy relied heavily on importing guns from France, Belgium and England, although there is minimal shipping records to be able to confirm numbers on many of these shipments
with many labeled as “merchandise” or “hardware” to avoid capture, and many shipments intercepted
by the Union blockade. Lefaucheux revolvers were also purchased and used by European militaries
and are considered to be the first metallic cartridge handguns officially adopted by any national military. This
example has a blade front sight, hammer notch rear sight, smooth walnut grips with the mentioned silver
inlaid Texas star on the left, “H” carved twice on the right, lanyard ring, E. Lefaucheux Brevete markings on the
left side of the barrel at the breech with a “crown/JL” marking on the right, serial number “3007” on the left of the
frame, and faint circled “E/LG” proof on the cylinder. A similar example of this pattern of Belgian made “Lefaucheux Brevete” Model
1854 type revolver is pictured in plate 2-57 on page 73 of the book “Systeme Lefaucheux” by Chris Curtis, in which it has a slightly
different construction from the French made Lefaucheux Model 1854 revolvers of the same time period.
CONDITION: Good, full of Texas character, with mostly smooth brown patina, the casehardened frame showing half silvery-gray patina, and general mild wear. Grips are
also good, with an absent section at the top leading edge of the left panel, scratches, dents, carvings as mentioned, and attractive untouched aged patina on the silver
Texas star. Absent loading gate. Mechanically very good. Holster is fair with general age related cracking and wear typical of Texas issue, with an absent flap retainer. Texas pin is very good with a darkened tarnished appearance, and an absent section of the “E” letter. This is one of the neatest Lefaucheux revolver sets this writer has ever seen. This is a must have for any Texas arms collector!
196 Estimate: 4,000 - 6,000