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LOT 147
Outstanding U.S. Colt Artillery Model Single Action Army Revolver with Factory
Letter - Serial no. 82756, 45 Long Colt cal., 5 1/2 inch round bbl., blue/casehardened
finish, walnut grips. The included factory letter lists this revolver in .45 caliber with a blue
finish and indicates it was originally sold to the United States Government and delivered
to the government inspector at the Colt plant on October 30, 1882, in a group of 200
revolvers. The letter further states that the revolver was returned to Colt for refurbishing
including the replacement of worn parts, refinishing, and reassembly and then was
reshipped to the Commanding Officer at Springfield Armory on April 17, 1903. As noted
in “Colt Cavalry and Artillery Revolvers...a Continuing Study” by Kopec and Fenn, Colt
Single Action Army revolvers were refurbished and rebuilt between 1895 and 1903 for
the U.S. government in different batches, including 5,444 “Artillery Models” refurbished
in 1900-1903. Since being returned to Springfield, this revolver evidently saw fairly little
use, but the “Artillery Model” revolvers as a larger group saw extensive use. They are
historically significant as the revolvers date originally to the Indian Wars of the 1870s
to 1890s on the western frontier, and many then saw use over seas as the U.S. flexed its
military might abroad, including use by the Rough Riders under Theodore Roosevelt in
Cuba. Use in multiple conflicts has left relatively few of these revolvers in high condition,
making those like this one with considerable factory finish particularly desirable.
As is typical for these revolvers, this revolver has a mixture of parts and inspector marks
and was inspected after refurbishment by Rinaldo A. Carr. It has a blade front sight, the
one-line barrel address, no caliber marking on the left, “R.A.C.” and two “P” marks on the
underside of the barrel at the breech, “bullseye” ejector button, the black powder frame
with the three-line patent marking and “U.S.” on the left, “D.F.C.” and “82756” on the front
of the frame, “113785” and “G” at the front of the trigger guard, “113023” and “G” on the
butt, assembly number “369” on the loading gate, “9096” and “H.N.” along with “P” on the
side of the cylinder and “P” and “K” on the rear, “R.A.C.” stamped on the butt of the grip to
the left and right of the back strap, and “1903” over an “RAC” cartouche on the right side
of the grip.