colt 1860

[tliner]

thinking of purchasing a colt 1860 44. i was wondering if anyone knows how to track who originally owned the gun. i know from the serial # it was made in 1863 and suspect it was issued to the union army. i know it can be lettered through colt but that would be about 400 for me to have done, with a chance of getting nothing out of it. i have heard springfeild research service has some files also but not sure how to go about that route. any help is much appreciated. thanks

[Johnny P]

The price of a Colt letter was $300 for a Model 1860, and by the time you join Springfield Research Service, and upon the very slim chance they find your revolver, you will then have close to that in the SRS letter. That said, should SRS have your serial number you will probably get much more information from them.

[tliner]

thanks for the reply. the problem with the colt letter is that it will most likely only tell what unit it went to. by the serial # it was almost certainly purchased by the union army. that's a lot of money for info that wouldn't really increase the value of the gun. anyone know of a way i can find out if srs at least has any info on it before i commit a lot of money? need some bang for the buck. thanks again

[wayne]

List the serial number here and request someone to do an SRS search. Lots of folks have SRS books and will check for you.

[dave]

List the serial number here and request someone to do an SRS search. Lots of folks have SRS books and will check for you.

Of course those books are from the 1990's and much may be known since then, if SRS s still doing research.

[tliner]

List the serial number here and request someone to do an SRS search. Lots of folks have SRS books and will check for you.

serial # is 113951. thanks for any info

[tliner]

serial # is 113951. thanks for any info

anyone do a search on this serial # for me? thanks

[70ish]

Your 1860 was made in mid 1863. If Colt can get you a letter, and the pistol was sold to the Army, the information will generally only confirm that it was shipped as "part of a shipment of _______ to ….; the information will include the number of pieces in the shipment and the destination. The details will be thin as the destination is usually an officer at Governor's Island or some such army facility. There are seldom any specific units given as the army distributed the pistols to regiments by requisition. Colt themselves generally did not. There was a fire at Colt - I can't recall the specific year, but it was sometime between 1862 and 1864, I think, and some of the files were affected.

There might be a chance for more detailed information if the pistols were purchased by a State for one of it's own regiments, but that is seldom seen. It's not impossible, though.

[tliner]

thanks for the info 70ish. this is a start. anybody know whether the 1860 was sold exclusively to the military or to civilians too? if all went to the army not much sense spending a lot just to be told again thats where it went. would still be interested in hearing from anyone who can do a search on the srs files. thanks guys

[70ish]

Colt sold to the military and to civilians. Most of the production was, in the beginning, intended and for the most part, shipped to the military. Guns so intended were shipped with various inspection marks, including a cartouche on each grip and small, single letters stamped on most parts. They usually appear on the cylinder, at the top of the backstrap near the point the main spring is visible, and often on the barrel and frame. So, if the piece you are considering has these marks, you will likely get a letter with little specific information about the piece.

Colt did make revolvers for the civilian market and after the war was finished, most of the production was of the Civilian Model. They were often with a nicer finish and were not cut for the shoulder stock.
And, of course, there were no military inspection marks. Those pistols will sometimes have more specific information in the letter; even then you only find the dealer to which it was shipped. That, by itself
is interesting as the guns that were shipped "West" are often more desirable. For some reason, the Civilian Model pistols have a slightly less value. I suppose the Army's have more of an aura, but the civilian model is often in better condition and a little more attractive - to me anyway. Yet that all told I don't own a civilian model.

If you find someone to look it up, in SRS, you have a small chance that your number is listed. If so, the information is brief, but would indicate usually a military unit to which the pistol was issued at least at some time in it's service life.

[tliner]

thanks again. i do have the letter h stamped on the cyl , barrel and other marks so looks like it is military. still in pretty good shape but the nipples on the cylinder are in terrible shape. i was going to change them but may just leave as is and get a second cylinder so i can try it out. it is all numbers matching but pretty hard not to give it a try