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LOT 1136
Desirable Colt Sheriff’s Model Single Action Army Revolver with
Prototype Transverse Pin and Factory Letter - Serial no. 77639, 45 Long
Colt cal., 3 1/2 inch round bbl., blue/casehardened finish, walnut grips. Offered
here is a very intriguing antique Colt SAA fitted with a transverse pin that was
shipped in late February 1882. Held in place by a spring, the transverse pin
retained the cylinder pin and made its official doubt to the SAA line in the
Flattop Models in 1893 near serial number 152800, and in 1896 near serial
number 164100 all SAA variations were equipped with the transverse pin. The
transverse pin replaced the diagonal screw used on the first Peacemaker in
1873 and marked the evolutionary turning point from the black powder to
smokeless powder frame. The transverse pin did not originate with the SAA,
but instead was used on the Model 1877 DA revolver as early as 1877. The
cylinder pin head on this revolver is identical to the type used on the Model
1877. (There is a shadow of the filled basepin screw on the front of the frame.)
The Model 1878 DA revolver also used the transverse pin before 1896. Thus,
special ordering a standard frame SAA with a transverse pin prior to 1896 is
not out of the realm of possibility. Manufactured 14 years prior to the use of
the transverse pin on standard frame single actions, this revolver makes for a
highly unusual, possibly one-of-a-kind SAA that is well deserving of the finest,
most advanced private or public collection. It stands as one of the earliest
known SAAs to feature the transverse pin. Although the transverse pin is not
mentioned in the accompanying factory letter, it is an original factory feature.
This antique SAA is also in ejectorless Sheriff’s Model configuration, one of
the rarest and most sought after variations of the legendary Peacemaker.
The included factory letter confirms the 3 ½ inch barrel in .45 caliber and
blue finish as well as shipment to Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett & Co. of Chicago,
Illinois, on February 25, 1882 in a 10 gun shipment. On page 326 of “The
Official Record of the Colt Single Action Army Revolver 1873-1895” Don and
Carol Wilkerson accounted for only 52 non-engraved ejectorless Single Action
Army revolvers manufactured with a 3 ½ inch barrel in .45 caliber and blue
finish in the 1-164100 serial number range. These revolvers were desirable on
the western frontier for compact firepower, and despite their name associated
with a keeper of the peace, would have been as highly valued in the hands of
an outlaw or rancher.