This is a Civil War era Model 1849 Pocket revolver with a desirable Hartford Barrel Address.  Serial number is in the 181,000 range which dates production towards the end of 1860 (160,000 to 184,000)....close to Abraham Lincoln's Republican victory in the 1860 Presidential election.  100% All matching numbers. Standard .31 Caliber w/5 shot cylinder and 6" barrel.  We don't have any family history on this but was told it came from an old collection in Tennessee. 

In the months prior to the beginning of the Civil War in April 1861, Colt revolvers were shipped to Southern States preparing for War.  These smaller Colt pocket revolvers were quite popular with both Confederate and Union soldiers.  Quite a few can still be seen proudly displayed across with their owners in old ambrotype photographs during the War.  At that time leading up to the War, its been theorized Sam Colt, who was not only a great inventor but a shrewd businessman, altered his barrel address political reasons.  It's believed he changed his New York business address located on the top of the barrel of each revolver over company's mfg base at Hartford, CT to appease his Southern pro-secession customers who regarded NYC as a the center of the Abolition movement.  Whatever the case, by April 1861 when the War began, Colt had once again changed the address back to New York as he began to supply Colts to his Northern customers.  This is one of those Colts that fits into that late 1860 to early 1861 Hartford Address window.  

Overall condition is NRA Antique Good+ with silvery grey metal that shows good edges and very good markings.  Metal is mostly smooth with some minor of pinprick pits and corrosion on the cylinder and a few on the barrel.  The cylinder still shows almost its entire roll engraved Stagecoach scene...and still visible through the areas of light pitting.  Screws are in good shape...a few look to have been cleaned up but all of them appear to be original to the gun.  Brass back strap and trigger guard show strong traces of original silver plate...about 5% overall.  Action works fine with a working half cock and proper indexing.  Bore is good overall with very decent rifling along with some scattered pits.  Wedge still locks the barrel up to the frame tightly.  One of the guide pins at the front of the frame has chipped off but its just as tight without out it.  Very good walnut grips are with some original varnish remaining.  There was a small hairline crack (nothing bad) on the left side that's been mended.  All in all, a respectable 100% original example of a Southern-leaning Hartford Addressed Colt 1849 Pocket Revolver.

Item# 0936

SOLD