{"product_id":"original-u-s-civil-war-colt-model-1862-pocket-police-36-caliber-percussion-revolver-with-6-1-2-barrel-1865-production-serial-no-29642","title":"Original U.S. Civil War Colt Model 1862 Pocket Police .36-Caliber Percussion Revolver with 6 1\/2\" Barrel - 1865 Production - Serial No. 29642","description":"\u003cp\u003eOriginal Item: Only One Available. Introduced in 1862 as the \"Police Pocket Model of 1862 of Navy Caliber (.36)\", this 5 shot .36 caliber percussion revolver was often purchased by serving Officers as a reserve handgun carried on the inside of their tunics.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEven with the somewhat long 6 ½\" barrel, this matured example would have been perfect in that role, and is offered in very good used condition. The revolver has matching serial number \u003cstrong\u003e29642\u003c\/strong\u003e on most parts, including the barrel, frame, trigger guard, and grip frame. The cylinder arbor pin and barrel wedge are marked with shortened number \u003cstrong\u003e9642\u003c\/strong\u003e, while the serial on the back of the cylinder is worn away. The serial number indicates production in \u003cstrong\u003e1865\u003c\/strong\u003e, according to Colt firearms records, so it was made at the very end of the U.S. Civil War.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe checked the cylinder thoroughly, and the original \"PAT SEPT 10th 1850\" marking inside one of the flutes is completely worn away, while the frame is still correctly marked \u003cstrong\u003eCOLTS PATENT\u003c\/strong\u003e, which is relatively crisp. There is also a clear \u003cstrong\u003e36CAL\u003c\/strong\u003e stamped on the left side of the trigger guard, which we do not often see. As we usually see, along with the serial number, the \"safety pins\" on the back of the cylinder are almost worn away. Top of the barrel shows wear from past oxidation and cleaning, so the Colt address is mostly worn away:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ccenter\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e[ADDRESS COL. SAML]\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cb\u003e COLT NEW-YORK \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cem\u003e[U.S. AMERICA.]\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/center\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe revolver looks to have seen shows extensive period use, and the original blued finish on the metalwork has been worn to a light gray patina, with some areas of past peppering. The original nickel plating on the trigger guard and grip frame is completely removed, and it now displays a lovely lightly aged golden patina. The walnut grip itself is in very good condition, showing moderate wear. The original \"piano varnish\" finish is still retained at about 80%, showing wear around the bottom edge, and there is a missing chunk on the left front toe.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe checked the mechanics, and the revolver functions very well, with solid indexing and a firm cylinder lockup. We did not notice any of the usual finicky behavior we often see with revolvers of this age. The barrel to frame connection is still solid, and does not look to have been adjusted in the past. The bore of the revolver is very good condition, showing a mostly bright finish with clear lands and grooves. The Colt \"progressive rifling\" is still readily evident, and we do not see any major oxidation damage, just wear from cleaning and use. This is well above what we usually see for a Civil War percussion revolver. The cap nipple cones are all present and clear, though they show a good amount of powder burn and past oxidation, as well as mushrooming on the ends due to hammer strikes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis 1865-production Colt Model 1862 Police retains matching serial number 29642 on the principal components, with the corresponding shortened number on the cylinder arbor and barrel wedge. Its well-functioning action, firm cylinder lockup, solid barrel-to-frame fit, and notably bright bore with clearly defined progressive rifling are particularly noteworthy. The worn finish, softened barrel address, absent cylinder markings, mushroomed nipples, and missing section at the toe of the grip are fully evident, while the surviving varnish and naturally aged brass frame components contribute to its cohesive appearance. It remains a well-preserved example of a late Civil War-production Colt pocket revolver showing extensive use but strong mechanical and bore condition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSpecifications:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYear of Manufacture: 1865\u003cbr\u003eMaker: Colt Patent Firearms Co.\u003cbr\u003eModel: 1862 Pocket Police\u003cbr\u003eCaliber: .36cal\u003cbr\u003eAmmunition Type: Cap and Ball\u003cbr\u003eBarrel Length: 6 ½ inches\u003cbr\u003eOverall Length: 11 ¾ inches\u003cbr\u003eAction: Single Action\u003cbr\u003eFeed System: 5 Shot Revolver\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFederal Classification: Pre-1899 Antique\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eHistory of the Colt Pocket Percussion Pistols:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe family of Colt Pocket Percussion Revolvers evolved from the earlier commercial revolvers marketed by the Patent Arms Manufacturing Company of Paterson, N.J. The smaller versions of Colt's first revolvers are also called \"Baby Patersons\" by collectors and were produced first in .24 to .31 caliber, and later in .36 caliber, by means of rebating the frame and adding a \"step\" to the cylinder to increase diameter. The .31 caliber carried over into Samuel Colt's second venture in the arms trade in the form of the \"Baby Dragoon\"-a small revolver developed in 1847–48. The \"Baby Dragoon\" was in parallel development with Colt's other revolvers and, by 1850, it had evolved into the \"Colt's Revolving Pocket Pistol\" that collectors now name \"The Pocket Model of 1849\". It is a smaller brother of the more famous \"Colt's Revolving Belt Pistol of Naval Caliber\" introduced the same year and commonly designated by collectors as the \"1851 Navy Model\" (and which was a basically a larger, .36 caliber of the Pocket Model, \"belt pistol\" referring to a weapon sized to fit into a belt holster, as opposed to the saddle holsters generally called for by Colt's larger cavalry combat models). In 1855 Colt introduced another pocket percussion revolver, the Colt 1855 \"Sidehammer\", designed alongside engineer Elisha K. Root.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Pocket Model revolvers all have a traditional \"Colt-style\" frame, generally with brass grip straps and trigger guard, and a case-hardened steel frame. In appearance, the frames are almost identical to the larger 1851 Navy and .44 caliber 1860 Army Models, with the exception of being smaller, and so having a proportionately larger trigger guard. Since they appear so similar to the larger weapons, without an object nearby to give them scale, the Pocket Revolvers tend to give an impression of being larger than they actually are; it is difficult to fit all four fingers onto the slender grip, even for a person with average-sized hands. Except for by noting the relative size of the trigger guard to the frame, it is easy for a casual observer to mistake a .31 caliber Model 1849 for an 1851 Navy (un-rebated frame, slab-sided webbing around a regular pivoting loading lever, octagonal barrel, unfluted cylinder); indeed, the Model 1851 Navy was basically no more than a scaled -up 1849 Pocket Model. Likewise, the larger .36 caliber Pocket Police Models are virtually identical to the 1860 Army Model, with rebated frame and stepped cylinder (to accommodate a size up from .31 to .36, instead of .36 to .44 as with the Army Model), a graceful, flowing webbing surrounding a new style \"creeping\" loading lever, and a round barrel. The most obvious difference is that the Pocket Police had a fluted 5-shot cylinder, while most Army Models were unfluted, and held six shots. The reason for this close similarity is that all four guns were closely related, and followed similar paths of development; the original .31 caliber Model 1849 was scaled up to create the .36 caliber 1851 Navy Model. Later, the Navy Model was increased in bore size by rebating the frame and enlarging the cylinder, and became the 1860 Army Model. With the success of this project, the .31 caliber of the 1849 Model was similarly increased to .36, using the same method, creating the Pocket Police and Pocket Navy models in 1860.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1860, the .36 caliber Police Pocket model was created, after lessons were learned from experimentation aimed at reducing the size of the .44 Colt Holster Pistols (i.e. large cavalry weapons), Colt took advantage of stronger mass-produced steel by rebating the frame of the Navy revolver to hold a larger-diameter 44\/100-inch chambered cylinder, basically fitting the power of a large cavalry saddle holster-gun and fitting it into the .36 caliber Navy Model, a gun that could be carried in a belt holster. Previously, it wasn't thought that the smaller frame could handle the power of the .44 round, but the introduction of stronger metals made it possible. Learning the lessons from this, the Colt factory applied the same technology to the .31 caliber Model 1849 Pocket revolvers, using high-strength (for the time) steel for the frame, which allowed them to remove enough material to fit a larger-diameter .36 caliber cylinder which still had five shots (the alternative was to simply retain the original cylinder diameter, and create a 4-shot .36 caliber version. The stronger steels made this sacrifice unnecessary. Other changes including lightweight fluted cylinders, and a round barrel, to offset the added weight, and a \"creeping\" loading lever as used in the 1861 Army Model; the result was the \"Police Pocket Model of 1862\", even though production started in 1861. The Pocket Navy was a version similarly up-sized to .36 caliber, but which retained the octagonal barrel and traditional loading lever of the earlier pocket mode. Between 1862 and 1873, Colt records document production of 19,000 of the Pocket Navies and over 20,000 Pocket Police revolvers. Relative to the .31 Pocket Revolvers, the period of manufacture was short and overall numbers were further limited by a fire at the Colt Factory in 1862 and War production concerns.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNOTE: International orders of antique firearms MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services (courier). USPS Priority Mail international will not accept these. International customers should always consult their country's antique gun laws prior to ordering.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Original Items","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45390376108101,"sku":"ONJR26JUGC022","price":1595.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1524\/1342\/files\/1BBE011A-98B4-4172-A7C2-4A285DBE9879.jpg?v=1784743383","url":"https:\/\/www.ima-usa.com\/products\/original-u-s-civil-war-colt-model-1862-pocket-police-36-caliber-percussion-revolver-with-6-1-2-barrel-1865-production-serial-no-29642","provider":"International Military Antiques","version":"1.0","type":"link"}