Page 144 - 4093-BOOK3

LOT 3207
Rare and Highly Desirable Factory German Silver Banded
Colt No. 3 Belt Model Paterson Percussion Revolver with
Mold - Serial no. 174, 36 cal., 4 1/2 inch octagon bbl., blue/
German silver finish, walnut grips. Samuel Colt’s Patent Arms
Manufacturing Company marks the beginning of a new era in
firearms manufacturing and history. Colt’s innovative designs
brought repeating arms to the masses like not other arm before, and
his factory in Paterson, New Jersey, manufactured several variations
of revolving handguns and long guns before closing in 1842. While
production was limited, Colt’s revolvers left a lasting impression
and particularly saw use in battle in the Southwest where the
Texas Rangers used them in battle against the Comanche setting
the stage for Samuel Walker and Colt’s collaboration on the Model
1847 Walker during the Mexican-American War and the success of
Samuel Colt’s improved designs. While the Model 1851 Navy was
later known as the Belt Model, these early Paterson Belt Models are
more equivalent to the Model 1849 Pocket revolvers which became
arguably the most popular of all of Colt’s revolvers with over 300,000
made. The Model No. 3 Belt Model revolvers were numbered within
the same range as the No. 2 Belt Model revolvers in 1837-1840, and
total production of the No. 3 only reached approximately 450.
This revolver is a No. 3 Belt Model Paterson with the medium
length barrel (4 1/2 inches). This early example was manufactured
prior to the spring of 1840 based on the squareback cylinder. R.L.
Wilson classified this variation at the “Model A” which in addition to
squareback shoulders on the cylinder has flared walnut grips with
rounded butt, flared barrel lug with double curve, small letters in
the barrel address, and blued finish on the frame. This revolver is the
more deluxe version with seven German silver bands inlaid into the
barrel and frame recoil shield as well as a German silver escutcheon
inlaid into the back strap. It is similar to serial number 6 shown on
page 103 of “The Paterson Colt Book” by Wilson. The barrel has a
small blade front sight and “-Patent Arms M’g Co Paterson, N-J Colt’s
Pt.-” marked on top. The cylinder has the roll engraved centaur
scene. The serial number “174” is marked on several components
such as the wedge, trigger, back of the barrel lug, rare face of the
cylinder, cylinder turning ring, left side of the front strap, inside of
the back strap, and butt of the left grip. The grips are tightly fit and
were not dismounted, but the back strap almost certainly is marked
with the matching serial number as well. It is accompanied by a rare
Paterson ball mold with wooden handles.
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