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LOT 3206
Outstanding, Rare, and Fresh Colt Model 1871-1872
Open Top Single Action Revolver - Serial no. 1575, 44
RF cal., 7 1/2 inch round bbl., blue/casehardened/silver
finish, walnut grips. This highly attractive Colt Model 1871-
1872 Open Top revolver is one of approximately only 7,000
manufactured circa 1872-1873, at a time when settlers
pouring into the American West demanded powerful large
caliber sidearms. Their heavy use on the Western frontier and
limited production run has made the Model 1871-1872 one of
the most difficult Colt revolvers to find in any condition. High
condition Model 1871-1872s, like this example, are very rarely
encountered for public sale. The Model 1871-1872 Open Top
was a direct predecessor of the hugely successful Colt Single
Action Army Revolver, and these were some of the first Colt
cartridge revolvers available in the West. These revolvers
remained in use as working guns well into the period of
dominance of the Single Action Army.
The production of the Open Top was made possible after
the American government refused Rollin White’s request to
extend his breech loading revolver patent in 1870. White’s
patent was a drastic leap in the progression of firearms
development as it allowed for a bored through revolver
cylinder to be loaded with cartridges at the rear. Smith &
Wesson held exclusive rights to the use of White’s patent, and
for every S&W manufactured revolver that used his bored
through cylinder patent, White received a 25 cent royalty.
White was responsible for defending his patent in court
against other manufacturers who infringed upon his breech
loading design, and his success in the courts paved the way
for S&W to manufacture the first commercially successful
revolver to use rimfire cartridges, the Model 1, with near
impunity from competitors. S&W followed up the Model 1
with a series of tip-up revolvers that dominated the rimfire
market. The expiration of White’s patent signaled the end
to S&W’s unyielding domination over the rimfire revolver
market. Colt’s response was the Model 1871-72 revolver.
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