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LOT 3114 Exceptional Cased Colt London Model 1851 Navy Percussion Revolver - Serial no. 22272, 36 cal., 7 1/2 inch octagon bbl., blue/casehardened finish, walnut grips. This extraordinarily fine cased revolver was manufactured at the Colt London Armory in 1855. The barrel has a cone front sight, the “-ADDRESS COL. COLT. LONDON-” address, and London proof and view marks on the left. The frame has the “COLTS/PATENT” marking on the left with the “S” lightly struck. The cylinder has the classic Naval Battle of Campeche scene, alternating London proof and view marks, and a lightly struck “COLTS PATENT” marking. The revolver also has matching visible serial numbers and the round head screws. The revolver comes in a fitted hardwood case with bright red lining, a cleaning rod, a blued ball/bullet mold, an L-shaped combination tool, an Eley Bros. cap tin, a cartridge pack, and a bag shaped James Dixon & Sons powder flask.
Samuel Colt moved quickly to establish an international reputation and market for his firearms after re-entering the arms business in 1847, and the Model 1851 Navy was the primary international Colt of the period. Given the power and size of the British Empire at the time, he worked to establish an armory in London to supply the British market and potentially the British military. Ultimately, the factory was short lived, and instead replaced with a sales agency since his revolvers faced steep competition from homegrown British designs such as Robert Adams’s double action revolvers. The genuine London Colts are particularly desirable variants of Colt’s classic cap and ball revolvers. Only around 42,000 London Navies were made compared to around 215,348 Hartford ‘51 Navy revolvers. CONDITION: Excellent. 95% plus of the original vivid casehardened finish remains. 85% plus of the original bright blue finish remains with loss concentrated on the right side of the barrel and on the grip straps. The markings and cylinder scene remain crisp aside from the exceptions noted above. The grip is also very fine and has nice original varnish and some minor dings and scratches. Mechanically excellent. The case and accessories are all very fine and have minor storage related wear. Overall, this is a stunning cased Colt London ‘51 Navy revolver. Provenance: The Norm Vegely Collection. Estimate: 14,000 - 22,500