Colt 1849 Pocket Revolver

This Colt Model 1849 Pocket Percussion Revolver has a standard 4" octagon barrel in .31 caliber with a five shot cylinder. It has the early style small trigger guard and early style two line New York barrel address. It's in nice shape with good edges, nice markings, and nearly all of its original roll-engraved cylinder scene intact. The metal has a gray-brown patina. The brass trigger guard and backstrap have nicely mellowed with traces of original silver in protected areas. The grips are in Very Good Condition. Very Good screws throughout. The mechanics are in good working order and even has a decent bore. Most of the safety pins on the back of the cylinder are present from poor to good...but present and not worn smooth like so many antique Colts we find. All in all, this is a very solid gun and based on the condition, something we'd normally price around $1,100 to $1,250.

The reason it's priced so low is because a few of the serial numbers are not all matching. The frame, trigger guard, backstrap, wedge, and arbor pin are in the 127,000 range (1856) . The cylinder is in the 137,000 range (1857) while the barrel and loading lever are in the 69,000 range (1853). This gun has been this way for a very long time which makes one wonder how parts from three different Colts collided? As noted in previous listings, the 1849 was immensely popular during the Civil War with soldiers in both the Union and Confederate armies who privately purchased these as "back-up" weapons. Regardless of the numbers, the gun overall is uniform in appearance...and possibly the result of what collectors/dealers like to romanticize as a Civil War era campfire swap as well as living proof that 150 years ago, Samuel Colt ran a company fully capable of manufacturing guns with 100% interchangeable parts. Note: we found this Colt in North Carolina and all three serial numbers are 1850's era making them early enough to have made it South prior to the Civil War. A nice looking Colt for a bargain price!

Item# 1447

SOLD