Colt New Police "Cop & Thug" Revolver w/ London Address

This is an English market version of the Colt New Police revolver a.k.a. "Cop and Thug". We believe this was the largest spur trigger revolver Colt ever made. Standard 4-1/2" barrel in .38 Colt...the same caliber used in the New Line and the US Army Double Action Model 1892, 1894, 1896, and 1901 Revolvers. Left side of frame is marked "38 CAL" as well as the etched panel (see bottom paragraph). It has the scarce Hartford and Depot 14 Pall Mall London address on the top of the barrel. There were only 3,500-4,000 units produced from 1882-1886 sharing the same serial range with several other models like the "New House" and "New Line" Pocket Revolvers. This one is in the 15,000 range (14450-25700...correct for a New Police) and dates to the year 1883. The term "Cop and Thug" is the nickname collectors have attached to this model due to its hard rubber grips depicting a police officer bringing an unlawful hooligan to justice. That is not what we have here. This one has a pair of scarce special order rosewood grips. Wood grips were very popular on the English market Colts and they usually received extra finish in comparison to wood grips we find that sold on the American market.

Overall, NRA Antique Very Good Condition with the metal turned to a smooth brown patina overall with strong traces of original blue in the protected areas. The ejector housing still retains its original bronze spring and early style donut ejector rod head. Original sights, sharp checkering on hammer, very good to excellent screws throughout. The head on cylinder pin even has all of its checkering with no plier or pry marks. As is usually the case on a low % orig. finish Colt, the fragile etched panel on the left side of the barrel has mostly worn away but upon close inspection, "38" (denoting the caliber) is still legible along with portions of the elongated oval border. Grips are in Very Good+ condition (never sanded or cleaned) with 80% original varnish. However, there are numerous small nicks and minor scratches present which keep me from rating it Fine to Excellent. The mechanics are Excellent...indexes properly, full and half cock still work, etc. Bore rates as Fair+ to Good and may improve with a little cleaning. A solid example of a Colt New Police with seldom seen rosewood grips and scarce Pall Mall London address. Antique, Pre-1898.

Item# 1325

SOLD