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 unlike others we have seen looks to have used leftover parts from the Colt Pocket Model of 1862 of Navy Caliber in .36 caliber. It bears serial number 9653, which is marked on the barrel, frame, trigger guard, grip frame, and cylinder. The cylinder arbor pin is marked with 366, while the loading gate is marked with 736, however we see no indication that parts were swapped out. This revolver is definitely not part of the Pocket Model 1862 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 .36cal percussion revolvers like this example.

During the conversion, parts such as the grip, grip frame, and trigger guard were left alone, while the frame, trigger, cylinder, and barrel 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 a loading gate was also installed. There were extensions 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.

This example definitely has an original modified barrel, which we have actually had some trouble identifying. It is definitely a Colt barrel, but it is round, not octagonal like a Pocket Navy would be. It has had the loading rammer pivot hole filled, as well as the inlet for the rammer, and the bevel restored on the right side. A spring loaded ejector rod was also installed on the right side, secured by a screw going through the bolster under the barrel.

It still has a VERY faint Colt "Two Line" Address on the top of the barrel, which is the Hartford address, and originally would have read:

COLT'S PT. F. A. MFG. Co
HARTFORD. CT. U. S. A.

This can only be seen with a magnifying glass in the right light, but its is definitely still partially there. This is the same address marking that would be used on early Single Action Army revolvers with shorter barrels.

The cylinder is in very good condition, and still has the original COLTS PATENT / No. marking above and next to the serial number, as well as most of the "Stagecoach Holdup" scene still visible. The left side of the frame has early 1870s patent dates marked, which are still clear:

There is also still the 36CAL marking on the trigger guard left over from original production, but this is now incorrect. Overall condition of the revolver shows a lovely worn patina of age, with a mottled patina on the steel, and a dark "mustard" color to the brass components. It looks to have seen a good amount of cleaning over the years, which has worn down the front sight quite a bit. The walnut grip is lovely, showing only light wear, and no chips or cracks.

The revolver not only looks great but it is in fully functional condition, with a strong hammer pull, solid indexing and a firm cylinder lockup. The only noted issue is that the cylinder lock is a bit sticky, and if the hammer is pulled back very quickly the cylinder can overshoot slightly. The bore is in very good condition, showing strong lands and grooves with a partly bright finish. There is some oxidation and powder fowling, as expected from a black powder era revolver, but it is definitely well above average. The ejector rod and loading gate are fully functional.

A great example of an early Colt Factory Cartridge Converted Revolver with some good research potential, ready to add to your collection and display!

Specifications:

Year of Manufacture: Circa 1872-1875
Caliber: .38cal
Ammunition Type: Rimfire Cartridge
Barrel Length: 4 1/2 inches
Overall Length: 9 1/2 inches
Action: Single Action
Feed System: 5 Shot Revolver

History of the Colt Pocket Percussion Pistols:

The 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.

The 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.

In 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.

NOTE: 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.

IMA considers all of our antique guns as non-firing, inoperable and/or inert. Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 921(a)(16) defines antique firearms as all guns made prior to 1899. This law exempts antique firearms from any form of gun control or special engineering because they are not legally considered firearms. No FFL, C&R or any license is required to possess, transport, sell or trade Antique guns. All rifles and muskets sold by IMA that were manufactured prior to 1899 are considered Antiques by the US BATF (United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms). Therefore, all of IMA's Antique guns may be shipped to all US States and most nations around the world.

These antique guns are not sold in "live" condition, and are not tested for the the ability to feed or load any type of cartridge. They are sold as collector's items or as "wall hangers" not for use, and we make no guarantees regarding functionality aside from what is stated in the description. Any attempt at restoring an antique gun to be operational is strongly discouraged and is done so at the risk of the customer. By purchasing an antique gun from IMA you thereby release IMA, its employees and corporate officers from any and all liability associated with use of our Antique guns.

Pre-1899 Manufacture, no licenses required, allowed to ship to almost any deliverable address across the globe. Please note that for international shipping, these MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services. International customers should always consult their country's antique gun laws prior to ordering.