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LOT 1205
Highly Desirable, Rare .22 Rimfire Antique Black Powder Colt Single Action Flattop Target Revolver with Factory Letter - Serial no. 128464, 22 RF cal., 7 1/2 inch round bbl., blue finish, hard rubber grips. The Single Action Flattop Target revolvers were developed by Colt as a variation of their popular Single Action Army with a flat top frame and adjustable front and rear sights to satisfy the needs of target shooters, but there was evidently not much demand for Colt’s single actions in this caliber despite the popularity of .22 rimfire with target shooters. Thus, these are extremely rare and highly sought after by collectors. According to “The 36 Calibers of the Colt Single Action Army” by David M. Brown and “The Book of Colt Firearms” by R.L. Wilson, fewer than 100 First Generation Colt Single Action Army Flattop Target revolvers were chambered for .22 rimfire ammunition. This rare revolver letters as a Single Action Flattop Target revolver in .22 caliber with a 7 1/2 inch barrel, blue finish, and rubber grips and was the sole gun of this type in a shipment to Chicago Gun & Cutlery Company on February 5, 1889. We have never seen another shipped to this company! The revolver has a pinned nickel-silver bead style blade front sight, “COLT’S PT. F. A. MFG. Co. HARTFORD, CT. U.S.A.-” on top of the barrel, the “scooped” style ejector rod, “black powder frame” with the three- line patent marking on the left and flat topstrap with a dovetailed notch rear sight, “22 CAL” on the left side of the trigger guard, matching partial serial number “64” on the back of the cylinder, matching serial numbers on the frame and grip straps, assembly number “23” on the loading gate, and checkered hard rubber grips with embossed Rampant Colt and Great Seal of the United States designs. CONDITION: Very fine with 60% plus bright original blue finish overall with the balance fading to a smooth plum brown patina, minimal light oxidation and pitting, and mild overall wear. The grips are excellent and have crisp checkering and designs, minor handling and storage marks, and lightly aged coloration. Mechanically excellent. This is a true Colt Single Action collector’s dream gun! Provenance: The George S. Lewis Jr. Collection; Property of a Gentleman. Estimate: 30,000 - 45,000
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According to The 36 Calibers of the Colt Single
Action Army by Brown, fewer than 100 Colt Flattop Target
Revolvers were produced in .22 Rimfire