Original Item: Only One Available. The expiration of Rollin White's patent on revolvers with bored through cylinders in 1869 was a true watershed moment for the U.S. Firearms industry. Now all firearms manufactures would be able to directly manufacture cartridge revolvers without having to risk lawsuits or pay royalties. Colt was no exception, especially considering that Samuel Colt himself had PASSED on the chance to purchase exclusive rights to the patent in the 1850s. Additionally, with the large surplus of percussion revolvers post war, many systems were designed to convert these to take brass cartridge ammunition, in either rimfire or centerfire configurations.

Colt itself became involved in these, as there was definitely a large market. Colt revolvers however did not have a solid frame that allowed easy removal of the cylinder such as the Remington design, so they required more involved conversions. The first system they used in house was developed by Charles Brinckerhoff Richards, an engineer employed by Colt given the task of designing a conversion. As originally designed, it involved installation of a ring at the back of the cylinder, which held a captured firing pin, and also had a loading gate as seen on later revolvers. The loading rammer was removed and the channel filled in, with an ejector rod added to the right side of the barrel.

The downsides to the Richards system were the complicated machining of the conversion ring with the captive firing pin, and the overly complex and in some ways delicate ejector rod. These shortcomings were eliminated with the Richards-Mason conversions. This conversion system utilized an improved ejector design that had been patented by William Mason, and moved from a captured firing pin to one on the hammer, which also made it possible to convert revolvers to either centerfire or rimfire.

During the 1870s many percussion revolvers were converted at the Colt factory itself, and they also appear to have made kits to supply gunsmiths. Even after the Colt "Single Action Army" was introduced, conversions continued, as it was far cheaper than purchasing an entirely new revolver. Colt also made the decision circa 1873-1874 to use left over parts from percussion revolvers to make some early rimfire cartridge revolvers.

This is one such example, which looks to have used leftover parts from the Colt Navy Model 1851 Percussion Revolver in .36 caliber. It bears a very low serial number 1641, which is almost certainly not part of the Model 1851 serial sequence, and was instead added to parts used to make this factory converted revolver. It looks to have been made mostly from modified parts, not utilizing any purpose built parts like some later examples.

Colt had originally developed the .38 "Short" Colt cartridge specifically for converting Model 1851 Navy revolvers like this example. During the early conversions, parts such as the grip, grip frame, and trigger guard were left alone, while the frame, trigger, and cylinder required modification. The recoil shield on the right side was machined out and a spacer installed in front. This allowed the cylinder to be loaded from the rear, and extensions were added to the hammer to contact the cartridge rims. The rear of the cylinder was machined away, leaving the ratchet but completely removing the cap bolsters. In this case the cylinder would also need to have the chambers slightly enlarged for the .38 cal cartridges.

This example is in very good condition, looking to have been fully nickel plated during manufacture or shortly afterwards, as the markings are all still crisp, and we see no evidence of oxidation or wear under the plating. It still retains a good amount of the plating, but definitely looks to have seen wear to the sides, most likely from contact with a holster. It has serial number 1641 on the barrel, frame, grip, and trigger guard, while there are no markings on the cylinder. There is also assembly number 3200 stamped on the loading gate as well as on the cylinder arbor pin, typical of what we have seen in the past. The barrel wedge is marked 6239, probably a spare on hand when it was built.

The Colt single line address marking is still clearly legible on the top of the barrel, with crisp edges and no wear from refinishing:-

We can see traces of the "Naval Engagement Scene" on the sides of the cylinder, so it is one that was converted, but it definitely shows wear, having lost most of the plating. We cannot see any trace of the "COLT'S PATENT No" or serial number markings. The left side of the frame has early 1870s patent dates marked, which are still clear:

These are the standard markings seen on the factory cartridge conversion revolvers that were made using new frames, and match those seen on the "Colt Model 1871–72 Open Top", however this is definitely not one of those, though it is definitely one of the revolvers that led to that design. There is also still a faint 36CAL marking on the left side of the trigger guard.

The revolver is still in great shape and has a great "frontier worn" look that only comes from real use. The nickel plating is well retained on the action and grip frame, showing wear mainly on the sides of the recoil shield, while the barrel is missing most of the plating on the sides. The walnut grip is in lovely condition, showing a lovely red-brown color, and it looks to show only light wear, with W-4 stamped on the bottom. There is some wear around the bottom edge, and also a small chunk missing from the front right toe.

Functionally, the revolver cycles fantastically, with accurate indexing, a solid cylinder lockup, and a crisp dry fire. We did not notice any of the finicky behavior we often see on these old revolvers, so we really do not think it saw much use. The bore is in excellent condition, and does not look to have seen much use at all after being recut to use the .38 caliber cartridges. There is just a bit of past fouling and oxidation, now cleaned away. The loading gate opens easily, and the ejector is fully functional.

A lovely nickel plated example of a Colt Factory Cartridge Converted Revolver with some good research potential, ready to add to your collection and display!

Specifications:

Year of Manufacture: circa 1871-1873
Caliber: .38
Ammunition Type: Rimfire Cartridge
Barrel Length: 7 1/2 inches
Overall Length: 13 inches
Action: Single Action
Feed System: 6 Shot Revolver

History of the 1851 Navy Colt Pistol:

The .36 caliber Navy revolver was much lighter than the contemporary Colt Dragoon Revolvers developed from the .44 Walker Colt revolvers of 1847, which, given their size and weight, were generally carried in saddle holsters. It is an enlarged version of the .31 caliber Colt Pocket Percussion Revolvers, that evolved from the earlier Baby Dragoon, and, like them, is a mechanically improved and simplified descendant of the 1836 Paterson revolver. As the factory designation implied, the Navy revolver was suitably sized for carrying in a belt holster. It became very popular in North America at the time of Western expansion. Colt's aggressive promotions distributed the Navy and his other revolvers across Europe, Asia, and Africa. As with many other Colt revolvers, it has a six-round cylinder.

The cylinder of this revolver is engraved with a scene of the victory of the Second Texas Navy at the Battle of Campeche on May 16, 1843. The Texas Navy had purchased the earlier Colt Paterson Revolver, but this was Colt's first major success in the gun trade; the naval theme of the engraved cylinder of the Colt 1851 Navy revolver was Colt's gesture of appreciation. The engraving was provided by Waterman Ormsby. Despite the "Navy" designation, the revolver was chiefly purchased by civilians and military land forces.

The .36 caliber (.375-.380 inch) round lead ball weighs 80 grains and, at a velocity of 1,000 feet per second, is comparable to the modern .380 pistol cartridge in power. Loads consist of loose powder and ball or bullet, metallic foil cartridges (early), and combustible paper cartridges (Civil War era), all combinations being ignited by a fulminate percussion cap applied to the nipples at the rear of the chamber.

Famous "Navy" users included Wild Bill Hickok, John Henry "Doc" Holliday, Richard Francis Burton, Ned Kelly, Bully Hayes, Richard H. Barter, Robert E. Lee, Nathan B. Forrest, John O'Neill, Frank Gardiner, Quantrill's Raiders, John Coffee "Jack" Hays, "Bigfoot" Wallace, Ben McCulloch, Addison Gillespie, John "Rip" Ford, "Sul" Ross and most Texas Rangers prior to the Civil War and (fictionally) Rooster Cogburn. Use continued long after more modern cartridge revolvers were introduced.

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