Page 186 - 4096-BOOK2

LOT 1195
Exceptional and Historic Colt Third Model Dragoon Percussion
Revolver from Samuel Colt’s Collection and the Colt Factory
Collection - Serial no. 18136, 44 cal., 7 1/2 inch part round bbl., blue/
casehardened/silver finish, walnut grips. The is incredible revolver appears
to be a factory prototype built with a three-leaf rear sight (one standing,
two folding) and no provisions for a shoulder stock and was retained by
Samuel Colt as part of his personal collection. Colt also offered the Third
Model Dragoon with the three-leaf rear sight and provisions for shoulder
stock allowing the revolver to be used as a repeating carbine and appears
to have been considering offering a version with improved sights but
without a stock. The matching serial numbers visible on the cylinder,
barrel, trigger guard, and back strap date to 1859. The loading lever,
wedge, and arbor pin have the matching partial serial number “8136”. This
places the revolver towards the end of Third Model Dragoon production.
The Third Model Dragoon was the last of Colt’s massive “holster pistols”
that descended from the famous Colt Walker and were replaced by the
more streamlined Model 1860 Army. Approximately 10,500 Third Model
Dragoon revolvers were manufactured. They ran from approximately serial
number 10700 to 19800 per the “Blue Book Pocket Guide for Colt Dates of
Manufacture” by R. L. Wilson.
The finish is also interesting: the revolver has a blued finish on the barrel
and cylinder, color casehardened finish on the loading lever and hammer,
silver plated finish on the trigger guard and back strap, what appears to
be an oil-quenched casehardened finish on the frame giving it a dark
bluish tone, and a varnished one-piece walnut grip. The revolver features
a rounded German silver blade front sight, the one-line New York address
partially cutoff by the rear sight dovetail, the Texas Rangers and Indian
fight scene on the cylinder along with “COLT’S PATENT” and the rare
and desirable “U.S. DRAGOONS” marking rather than the more common
“U.S.M.R.” marking, “COLTS/PATENT” on the left side of the frame, “S” and “M”
on the left side of the trigger guard, star and “W” on the front face of the
cylinder, and “P” on the rear of the cylinder and the recoil shield.
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