A.P. CASEY INSPECTED CUSTER-ERA COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY - TWO NUMBERS OFF FROM A 7th CAVALRY REVOLVER RECORDED IN 1891

A.P. CASEY INSPECTED CUSTER-ERA COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY - TWO NUMBERS OFF FROM A 7th CAVALRY REVOLVER RECORDED IN 1891

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$3,250.00 ON HOLD

Quantity Available: 1

Item Code: 1309-107

A very good example of the classic .45 caliber M1873 Colt Single Action Army Revolver in original 7-1/2” barrel length, serial #16852, manufactured in 1875, and probably early 1875 since Sutherland and Wilson give 15000 to 21999 as the 1875 production range. Designed for Army trials in 1872 and adopted in 1873, this was the standard army issue revolver from 1874 to about 1892, with a total made of about 37,000, but with many having their 7-1/2” barrels shortened to 5-1/2” starting in 1895.

The revolver is complete and all original. The mechanics are good. The pistol shows some wear and use, but not abuse. The metal is smooth, showing gray mixed with muted silver on the barrel and ejector housing, with some thin blue showing along the interior of the ejector housing. The cylinder matches the barrel for the most part, with some thin faded blue showing in the flutes between the chambers. The top strap and forward part of the frame show a bluish-gray, with some mottled bluish-grays and thin browns on the lower frame indicating old case colors. The hammer shows some clearer thin light blues of case coloring. The back strap is silver-gray with some thin brown, but good blue on the rear of the shoulders at the top and on the screw heads. The butt strap shows some rubbed blue with gray; the grip strap and triggerguard bow gray with some thin brown, with the plate showing silver gray on the bottom, with some thin blue on the sides and on the screws. The grips have good color, surface and tones, and a good fit, showing just some dings on the butt.

The barrel address is crisp and fully legible: "+COLT'S PT, F, A, MFG. Co. HARTFORD, CT, U.S.A.+" The serial numbers are fully legible and match, including the cylinder, which shows the last four digits. Albert P. Casey’s single “C” inspection stamp can be seen on the triggerguard, underside of the barrel assembly, and top of backstrap. We do not see any “P” proofmarks. On the left frame the first two letters in the upper and lower lines of the two-line patent stamp are visible with the rest of the marking worn, with just hints of the last digit and period at the end of each line. The “US” ownership marking, however, is fully visible, light on the “U,” but fairly sharp on the “S.” The grips show an oval on the left and remains of an oval on the right, but with no inspector’s initials visible.

We have not removed the grips to look for a number. We note that the buttstrap screw, however, shows some gouging to the slot, indicating it was turned. According to Pate and Daum, Casey may have inspected as many as 2,400 of these revolvers in the 16800 to 19500 range, fitting this one. They also note that this predated the practice of the ordnance inspector placing his initials and the date on the left grip and the principal sub-inspector placing his on the right, and, “because of this, the Casey-inspected revolvers bear only one cartouche, his, on the left grip,” all of which suggests the grips were replaced at some point. This should likely be expected in a revolver clearly showing a long period of use from the wear to the markings on the lower left frame. Interestingly, Springfield Research Service Vol. 3, p. 125, lists #16850 as belonging to Co. C 7th US Cavalry and recorded as being in a train wreck Jan. 26, 1891, a good sixteen years after its manufacture. A miss is as good as a mile in these serial numbers, of course: SRS says there seems to be no single block of serial numbers issued to the 7th, and there is no telling when that revolver came into their hands, but it is an interesting association in any case, and illustration of how long some of these revolvers remained in active service.

This would make a good addition to an early-west related collection or a U.S. cavalry display with emphasis on the classic Custer and Indian Wars period.  [sr][ph:L]

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