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LOT 3139
Extremely Rare “AM. Sterling” Colt Second Model Derringer Pistol - Serial no. 3847, 41 RF
cal., 2 1/2 inch flat topped round bbl., German silver finish, antique ivory grips. This fascinating
Colt Second Model or “National Derringer” is among the rarest of all Colt handguns and
certainly of Colt’s popular derringers. The left side of the barrel is stamped “0 AM.STERLING.”
The top of the barrel is roll-stamped: “+ COLT’S PT. F.A. MFG. CO./HARTFORD CT.U.S.A.” followed
by No 2+.” The serial number, “3847,” is stamped on the bottom of the bird’s head butt and on
the underside of the barrel. The sides of the frame top of the receiver and top of the grip strap are decorated
with the standard factory scroll engraving. The hammer spur and the face of the trigger are knurled, and both the
hammer and trigger have a casehardened finish. It is fitted with a pair of smooth antique ivory grips.
A similar Sterling marked pistol is pictured and discussed on p. 270-273 of the included copy of “A Life’s Tapestry of a
Collector: The Gamble Collection” by George F. Gamble and R.L. Wilson, where the authors note that for a long time
the few known “AM. STERLING” marked Colt Second Model Derringers were believed by many, including Wilson,
to have been made with solid sterling silver frames and barrels. For example, see p. 41 of “The Deringer in America
Volume Two: The Cartridge Era” by L.D. Eberhart and R.L. Wilson and the derringer p. 263 of “The Book of Colt Engraving”
which calls serial number 3642 a “unique solid sterling silver Second Model Colt Derringer, a presentation to the American
Sterling Company. Documented by a Colt factory ledger entry.” That pistol is noted as from the George S. Lewis Jr. Collection.
Lewis figured out that this material was not actually sterling silver, and No. 3642 was also discussed in his article “Colt
‘Deringers’” in the “American Society of Arms Collectors Bulletin No. 53” from the fall of 1985, where it is properly identified
as “made of ‘sterling metal’ from the American Sterling Company” rather than actual sterling silver. In a letter to Lewis from
Curator Arline G. Maver of the Connecticut State Library Museum & Colt Collection referenced by Wilson which is shown in
the article, Maver notes that the factory ledger on August 27, 1872, records: “Presentation 1 Natnl. Der. Pistol made of Sterling
Metal from Am. Sterling Co. $4.75. To American Sterling Co., Naubuc (Conn.) Aug. 15th.” She indicated that was the only
reference to American Sterling located in the ledgers.
In the previously mentioned book, Gamble and Wilson, based on information from Connor FitzGerald, note that the American
Sterling Co. of Hartford, Connecticut, manufactured an alloy similar to German-silver rather than sterling silver, and “The
Colt company experimented with the new metal, which had the advantage of an appearance like sterling silver, but of a
strength comparable to steel.” The book also points to “The Science Record for 1873: A Compendium of Scientific Progress
and Discovery During the Past Year with Illustrations” from 1873 which indicates the new alloy they produced was invented
by Helen L. Macker and the new “American Sterling Metal” was being tried for various products, including the important
details: “Its strength is so great that it can be, and has been, substituted for steel in the manufacture of pistol-barrels, while
repeated tests, made at the Colt Armory, at Hartford, Conn., show that it has three times the tenacity of the latter metal. At an
experimental trial, a spring of steel wire parted at 3000 pulls: 82,000 pulls were necessary to break a precisely similar wire
of sterling.”
Gamble and Wilson note that only four examples of Sterling marked Colt derringers have been identified: 3635, 3642, 6415,
and this example. Only an estimated 100 are believed to have been manufactured, maybe even considerably less. It would
be interesting to know more about the tests at the Colt factory and whether Colt started them or if the American Sterling
Co. initiated the experiments, perhaps specifically for publicity of their metal’s strength. These few known American Sterling
Co. Colt “National Arms” Derringers would certainly have been excellent ways to show off the strength of the new alloy to
interested customers, especially given that many would not have known how anemic the stubby .41 Short Rimfire
cartridges were.
According to "Life's Tapestry" by Wilson, only
4 Colt Second Model Deringer pistols have been
identified with American Sterling markings.
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