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Item No.:	10435	Price :	$3,150.00
Item :	RARE, COLT MODEL 1851 NAVY-NAVY CARTRIDGE CONVERSION REVOLVER, .38 LONG COLT

Description :

This is an original, Colt Model 1851 Navy Revolver manufactured in 1858. The Navy made two purchases of the '51 Colts for a total of 2600 revolvers. This revolver was purchased by the U.S. Navy as part of the second order of 600 guns in August of 1859. Half of these went to the New York Naval Yard and the other half was delivered to the Boston Naval Yard. The Navy specifically ordered their revolvers with iron backstraps and trigger guards, a departure from the standard Model 1851 on which they were brass. Records show that by 1860 nearly 30 U.S. Naval vessels had Model 1851 Colts in their small arms inventories. After the war, with the percussion system being rapidly replaced by cartridge firearms, the Navy adopted the Remington Rolling Block. The Navy was strapped for cash following the war and really could not afford to purchase more modern revolvers. Colt approached them with the idea of converting their existing revolvers to cartridge guns using the Richards-Mason conversion system. The Navy agreed at a price of $3.50 per gun. Eventually, 2,097 Model 1851 and 1861 Navy revolvers were converted to fire the .38 Long Colt cartridge. This involved significant modification of the cylinder, installation of a loading gate, an added Masons Pattern ejector rod and housing, removal of the loading lever, and some internal modifications. A new unnumbered wedge with no spring was used. No attempt was made to keep the original cylinders with the guns; they were renumbered to match. It is believed that of the 2,097 conversions done only about 1000 were done on Model 1851 revolvers. Only about 100 of these conversions are thought to have survived making this a quite rare and desirable U.S. martial arm. This revolver is in very good condition with an overall smooth, dark brown patina. The exception is the new wedge and Masons ejector rod housing which remain blue. These are twenty years younger than the revolver itself. Other examples I have seen also show considerably more finish on the ejector housing than the rest of the gun. Perhaps it is the different metal composition. The plunger tip has been slightly ground. The mechanics work well. The bore and chambers are in very good condition. You can see some speckling in the bore, but the rifling is strong. The grips are in fine condition with just a small ding or two from use. There is no sign of the original inspector's cartouches, but the grips were often replaced during the conversion process. The gun has matching numbers except for the replacement wedge. The cylinder was restamped to match the frame. There are Navy markings on the butt and on the underside of the barrel, stamped later when reinspected after conversion. This gun is stamped " R.W.M. {ANCHOR}". This was the inspection marking of Commander Richard W. Meade at the New York Navy Yard. The butt is stamped "U S N". Only the New York Navy Yard used inspection markings. Also, the frame patent markings are over stamped with the later patent dates for the Richards and Masons patents. This is a rare American martial arm, the first U.S. Navy metallic cartridge revolver. Stock no. 30644

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