Item HT 7282 Revolver - Colt 1873 Single Action Army Commemorative, Cased, 1961

Summary

Colt 1873 Single Action Army (SAA) or Peacemaker centrefire revolver, cased, Colt 125th anniversary commemorative edition, cal. .45 in., rifled octagonal barrel 190 mm (7 1/2 in) long with R.H.side mounted ejector.

Made by Colt's Patent Fire Arms manufacturing Co, Hartford, Connecticut, to commemorate the 125th annivrsary of the company. Serial number 3690AM, 1961.

Physical Description

Excellent blueing. Six chambered cylinder with standard length flutes, solid steel frame with excellent bluing, steel back strap, triggergard and hammer with brass plating, now showing some wear on high points, wooden grips with inlaid cast Colt logo brass escutcheon, blade front sight, loading gate on R.H.side. Barrel address is a Hartford address. Knurling on hammer is fine and unframed. Barrel address is a Hartford address. Two-line patent stamping on L.H.side of frame. Case is a genuine Colt commemorative edition case, wooden, with the lid's outer surface stamped in the centre with the word 'COLT' framed in a circle. The case is lined on the inside of the lid in a red satin synethic and in the body of the case with a pile fabric of matching colour. The fabric on the inside of the lid has the Colt rampant horse logo printed in gold. There are no accessories and the only compartment in the case if the recessed stencil for the revolver itself. A bronze medallion produced for the 125th anniversary accompanies the firearm. Its inscriptions are as below and it depicts on the reverse a Colt revolver crossed with Colt's logo of the rampant horse.

Significance

In 1961 Colt produced a commemorative edition of the 1873 Single Action Army revolver, also known as the Colt Peacemaker and popularised for its associations in cowboy genre cinema during the twentieth century as the favoured side-arm of gunboys, on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of the founding of Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company, Inc. The total production run was 7390. The items were cased and accompanied by a bronze medallion commermorating the anniversary.