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The authors state, “The letter first mentioning this revolver was
sent from the commanding officer of Springfield Armory to the
Colt company on October 24, 1896. In it, Colonel Mordecai said:
On August 5th last, your Mr. Grover brought to this Office, and
submitted for examination and trial, A Colt Single Action revolver,
cal. 41. It is now proposed to make at this Armory a preliminary
test of this weapon that a report upon it may be made to the
Chief of Ordnance. As the Ordnance Department does not use and
has not any ammunition suited to this revolver, please advise me
whether you feel disposed to furnish some cartridges, and if so,
will you be kind enough to send, say 800 rounds to this Armory.”
A letter returned from Colt’s Vice President John H. Hall two days
later on October 26, 1896, states, “This revolver was submitted to
you more for general style than for testing, and it has never yet
been thoroughly tested by us. When it was left with you, you were
asked for your opinion in regard to the changes we have made
from the previous model.”
Page 534 of the book states, “Springfield Armory Post Orders No.
41, dated October 30, 1896, appointed a board of officers ‘to meet
Saturday 31st to examine, test, and report upon two Single Action
Revolver, cal. 41, submitted by two different manufacturers.’” with
an excerpt from the Ordnance report that states, “Two Single
Action cal. 41 revolvers were received from the Commanding
Officer, one made by Smith and Wesson and the other by the Colt’s
Patent Firearms Mfg. Co.; each was accompanied with ammunition
for its test, also furnished by the manufacturer.” One part of the
report stands out in relation to this revolver that states, “Time
for firing 18 rounds with the revolver closed and the chambers
empty before and after firing for Colt’s pistol was 65.5 secs. and
61.0 secs. for the Smith & Wesson. The difference in time is the
necessity of bringing the hammer of the Colt’s revolver to safety
notch before the cylinder can be thrown out.” This description in
the Ordnance report illustrates perfectly the way this single action
prototype revolver functions, with the hammer required to be in
the safety cock position in order to allow the cylinder to swing
out. In relation to the Colt revolver tested, the Ordnance report
also states, “Its general shape
and design
is the same
as in the cal.
.38 double
action
revolver,
Army Model.”
The barrel has
the two-line
Colt legend
ending with
the March 5,
1895, patent
date on top
and “COLT. D.A.
41” on the left
side. The left
side of the frame
is stamped with
an encircled
Rampant Colt.
Fitted with a
set of smooth
walnut military
type grips.
CONDITION: Fine
as a Colt prototype revolver, retaining 80% original blue finish,
evidence of being cleaned with an abrasive, and some scattered
light pitting/spotting. The grips are very fine with high edge wear
and some handling marks. Mechanically excellent. This prototype
Colt single action revolver represents the end of an era, likely
being the last single action revolver ever developed by Colt for
military trials.
Provenance: The Charles Marx Collection.
Estimate: 7,500 - 12,000
As described in A Study of the Colt Single Action
Army Revolver by Kopec, Graham and Moore
Matching visible serial numbers on the frame, trigger guard,
and back strap, with an unnumbered cylinder, and assembly
number “582” on the loading gate. It is fitted with a blade
front sight, groove top strap rear sight, and checkered hard
rubber grips with the Rampant Colt at the tops. Includes
a “US” embossed leather military pattern revolver holster
marked with “I.C” inspection initials on the flap, with a
leather belt and brass “US” embossed belt buckle.
CONDITION: Very fine, retains 70% original blue finish with
smooth gray and brown patina on the balance, 75% vivid
original case colors, and sharp markings and edges in the
metal overall. Grips are fine, with some minor edge wear,
and otherwise crisp checkering. Mechanically excellent.
Holster rig is fine with some general light age related wear.
A rare example of a Philippines shipped Colt Model 1877
Thunderer Double Action Army revolver!
Provenance: The Charles Marx Collection.
Estimate: 4,500 - 7,500