Original Item: Only One Available. This is a lovely nickel-plated example of a modified Civil War Era Remington New Model Police Percussion Revolver, with a a great broken in look. This model was introduced by Remington in 1863 as a "Medium Frame" revolver based on the Remington Model 1858 Action, their answer to Colt's own "Police Model of Navy Caliber". During the 1860s, the large frame percussion revolvers were considered two unwieldy for use in the cities, while the "pocket" models did not pack enough of a punch. The "Police" models were a compromise that had more stopping power but were still smaller and relatively lightweight. The model was quite successful, with the Ilion factory producing 25,000 revolvers between 1863 and 1873.

The design was typical compared to other makers, it is a .36 caliber percussion, 5 shot single action with a number of different barrel lengths. It features the standard brass trigger guard of the full size revolvers, and a cylinder arbor pin that pulls forward, allowing the cylinder to be removed easily. It was not uncommon to keep a spare loaded cylinder, as they were easily swapped in. With the expiration of the Rollin White patent, the Remington percussion revolver design had a bit of an advantage based on the easily removable cylinder. They could be converted to use metallic rimfire cartridges by swapping out the cylinder, with little else required. These early rimfire cylinder had a removable back plate, and the hammer from the Remington would contact the edge.

This example is one of those early cartridge conversions, which was also nickel plated overall when it was converted. Except for the replaced cylinder and possible alteration to the hammer face, it is more or less unchanged from its percussion configuration. It even still retains the loading rammer, which serves no purpose on a rimfire revolver. It still has the correct patent markings fully visible on top of the 3 1/2 inch barrel:-

It is also marked with serial number 7966 on the underside of the barrel and under the rosewood grip scales, which are each stamped with 44 on the interior. The cylinder is marked with 1358 on the backing plate, which matches the number on the back of the cylinder underneath.

Overall condition is very good, with the nickel plating very well retained in most areas, with the trigger guard being a notable exception, as the plating does not seem to adhere well to the brass. There is no major oxidation or damage to the exterior, and the grips are made from what looks to be rosewood, and are really quite nice, showing just a tiny chunk missing on the left front toe.

The revolver functions perfectly, with a crisp tight action, accurate indexing, and a solid cylinder lockup. We did not notice any of the usual finicky behavior we often see with revolvers of this age. The cylinder arbor pin pulls out easily allowing the cylinder to be removed. The bore is in very good condition, showing a mostly bright finish with strong lands and grooves. There are some spots of past oxidation and fouling, but overall it's in great shape for a rimfire converted percussion revolver from the age of black powder.

In very good display condition, this very lovely rimfire converted revolver will make a great addition to any collection involving early cartridge conversions. Ready to display!

Specifications:

Years of Manufacture: circa 1863-1875
Caliber: .38 Rimfire
Ammunition Type: Rimfire Cartridge
Barrel Length: 3 1/2 inches
Overall Length: 8 1/2inches
Action: Single
Feed System: 5 Shot Revolver

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