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LOT 98
Extremely Rare Documented Nickel Plated Colt Black Powder Sheriff’s
Model Single Action Army Revolver with Desirable 2 1/2 Inch .45 LC
Barrel, Factory Letter, and Ron Graham Letter - Serial no. 107803, 45 Long
Colt cal., 2 1/2 inch round bbl., nickel finish, walnut grips. Offered here is an
extremely rare and very desirable example of a black powder Colt Sheriff’s
Model Single Action Army Revolver. In “The Official Record of the Colt Single
Action Army Revolver, 1873-1895” the authors stressed the rarity of the
ejectorless SAAs as a whole (barrel lengths ranged from 2 1/2 to 7 1/2 inches
in the study) and state that “just under 600 ejectorless Single Action Army
revolvers were produced in all calibers from 1882 to the 1930s.” Based on the
authors’ research Colt only manufactured 1 plain ejectorless SAA with a
2 1/2 inch barrel in .45 caliber and nickel finish in the
1-164100 serial number range (page 326). Thus,
making this SAA in the aforementioned serial
number range the only one in this configuration.
In his accompanying letter renowned Colt historian
and author Ron Graham considered this 2 1/2 inch
Sheriff’s Model an “absolute ultimate”. Graham noted,
“Research has revealed that, as of this writing [January 1997],
only three of those nine factory listed 2 1/2 inch Sheriff’s Models
are known to have survived. Rarity here is obvious.” The ejectorless
black powder frame Colt Sheriff’s Model Single Action Army
Revolver is one of the rarest and most sought after variations of the
legendary Peacemaker. This revolver is photographed and described
on page XXVIII of “A Study of the Colt Single Action Army Revolver:
Thirty Year Edition 1976-2006” by Graham, Kopec, and Moore.
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