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LOT 3075
Rare Black Powder Colt Single Action Army Flattop Target .32 S&W Revolver
with Holster and Factory Letter - Serial no. 128191, 32 S&W cal., 5 1/2 inch round
bbl., nickel finish, hard rubber grips. Offered here is a rarity in Colt collecting as it is
one of only 6 nickel finished, 5 1/2 inch barrel, black powder Colt Single Action Army
Flattop Target Revolvers in .32 S&W (see “The Official Record of the Colt Single Action
Army Revolver 1873-1895” by Wilkerson and Hoyt, page 402; note .32 S&W target,
.32 S&W Gallery, and .32-44 referred to the same basic cartridge). The authors of the
aforementioned publication confirmed from the factory records that all six of these
revolvers were shipped to E.C. Meacham Arms Co. of St. Louis, on December 8, 1888.
“An educated guess,” wrote the authors, “would be that the six revolvers to Meacham
were for a single buyer, most likely a shooting gallery in St. Louis” (page 203). The
six gun shipment and configuration (type of stocks not listed) for this revolver is
confirmed in the accompanying factory letter. Per our consignor the revolver was
verified by Tom Haas Jr. as beautifully restored in the 1970s by Tom Haas Sr. and
Horacio Acevedo. The revolver is fitted with target sights, a barrel marked with the
one-line Hartford address on top, a frame marked with the three-line patent dates
on the left side, and a trigger guard marked “32 CAL” on the left side. Matching serial
numbers appear on the frame, trigger guard, and back strap. The revolver wears a set
of checkered hard rubber grips featuring an embossed Rampant Colt and American
Eagle. Includes a period floral tooled Fred Biffar leather open top holster and a full box
of period Winchester .32-44 Gallery cartridges featuring a red label.
CONDITION: Very fine as professionally restored, retaining 98% plus of the nickel finish,
minimal handling marks, and a very faint cylinder drag line. The period replacement
grips are also very fine with overall crisp checkering. Mechanically excellent. The
holster is very fine. One of the rarest calibers of the Colt Single Action Army Flattop
Target Revolvers that is missing from even the most advanced collections.
Estimate: 8,000 - 13,000
According to "The Official Record of the Colt Single Action
Army Revolver 1873-1895" by Hoyt, only 6 Colt Flattop
Target Single Action Revolvers were produced in this
configuration and chambered for .32 S&W.
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