This .31 Caliber Colt Pocket Revolver has lots of tarnished silver left on the triggerguard and buttstrap, and even some color on the cylinder, which has a very sharp stagecoach robbery scene. Both are unusual since the silver wash seems to have gotten thinner as production went on and cylinders are natural highpoints for wear. The pistol has a four-inch barrel and all matching serial numbers: 201594, giving it an 1862 date of manufacture.

All metal is smooth, without pitting. Markings and serial numbers are sharp. The barrel has the Hartford address: “ADDRESS COL SAML COLT / HARTFORD CT.” The left frame is clearly stamped, “COLTS / PATENT.” The barrel shows a mix of bluish-gray and some lighter gray along along the edges of the octagonal barrel- the places most subject to wear. The screw slots are crisp. The loading assembly hinge shows some faint case. The frame screws are very good as well. The frame shows mottled grays with some browns. The cylinder has crisp markings and some color with some thin drag lines. The nipples are not battered. The grips are very good, with a tight fit to the frame and just slight wear to the varnish around the base. The silver wash is largely worn from the backstrap, but there is some tarnished silver around the base of the hammer, on the butt strap, and little coming up on the inside of the grip, though, like the backstrap that spot is subject top wear from handling.

The pistol is complete and all original. It was a successor to the “baby dragoon” revolver and became Colt’s most popular percussion pistol as essentially a down-sized version of the .36 Colt 1851 Navy or “Belt” revolver. Production ran to about 340,000 from 1850 to 1873, with lots of variations for the collector. It was popular in different barrel lengths among “forty-niners,” travelers, gamblers, and Civil War officers who found it effective as a personal sidearm and not too heavy on a long march. It would be a nice addition to an officer’s or early western collection.  [sr] [ph:m]

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