Two 1855 London Factory - Deluxe Engraved - Colt Navy Revolvers .
These Colt Navy Revolvers were described as 'LATER ENGRAVED ..MINT"
As a collector of 58 Years I did not believe that.
Both are in mint condition ... both advertised together..
COLT'S PATENT on the frame.
COLTS PATENT - Hand engraved in Gothic Script
The fine "COLTS PATENT" hand engraved in Gothic is the hallmark of factory engraved London Colt Navy Revolvers.
Also you can see by the clean fine singular sharp engraved lines that this is not refinished engraving.
Stamped Standard Model
Colt Navy Revolvers , not tagged for factory engraving, always had 'COLTS PATENT' deeply stamped on the left side of the frame in capital letters.
A 'Later Engraved' Colt.
If they were 'Later Engraved', and many were, then the engraving on the frame would be around the the heavy stamp as seen here.
It is not possible to erase the heavy stamped 'COLTS PATENT' and engrave by hand the fine London Gothic scripted 'Colt's Patent.' and result in a perfect finish.
The Serial No.s Stamped over some engraving.
The above images of over stamping are of the presentation Colt factory engraved Navy for VICTOR EMMANUEL II, presented by the King of Italy, on the left... and the Colt Revolver 17089 on the right.
Stamped after Engraving
I also found......
I also found that Napoleon III's revolver also had a serial number stamped over the engraving..... and look closely at the shape of the number 9... which I will discuss shortly.
Examining the numbers.
I found an '0' in 17089 that was stamped over the engraving.
This did not prove the engraving was London Factory Engraving.... unless I could prove the stamping tool, over the engraving, was a London tool used in stamping serial numbers in 1855 or thereabouts....... but it was important because it did reconfirm that this revolver was " NOT LATER ENGRAVED "
Reason being that, Colt revolvers destined for factory engraving were tagged.... 'Soft Finish' ....and passed to the engravers.
This was necessary as, it would be ridiculous to harden metal and then engrave it.
The same with stamping serial numbers.
Both the revolver parts and the stamping tools were made of steel.
The relatively fine stamping tool would have shattered after a few stamps, if attempted to stamp hardened metal.
So, after engraving, the revolver parts were then stamped with serial numbers, then sent back to production for hardening, case hardening, blueing and or silver plating etc.
After seeing the number stamped over engraving I searched for other " Documented London Navy Revolvers " and found the same stamping over the engraving in the Colt presented by KING VICTOR EMMANUEL II, To General Sandfront.
Checking for deformed Numbers
Microscopically checking, found the No. 9 on 17089 was deformed...
The No. 9 was very deformed and this fault was repeated in every stamping.... not just on 17089 but as you will see on several documented Colt Navy revolvers around this production time.
I then searched for documented London Colts with a No. 9 in their serial number around this serial number range.
It did not take long to find one... then another... then another, that also had a No. 9 in their Serial Number and I found they all were also stamped with this same defective No. 9 Tool.
Amazingly, these were not just "Some Other " Navy Colts, but very high profile Presentation COLTS for the:
King of Italy for General Sandfront
Napoleon III
Lord Cardigan
......all have a '9' in their Serial No. ...and all ....are stamped with this same damaged No. 9 Tool.
The Defective Number '9' Stamping Tool .
17089
The King of Italy's for General Sandfront
Napoleon III's Colt
Lord Cardigan's Colt
The damage No. '9'
17089
The King of Italy's Colt
Napolean III Colt
Lord Cardigan Colt
Confirmation of London Production.
The Lord Cardigan Presentation Colt has many No. 9 s and all are from the same deformed stamp as 17089.
This confirmed that 17089 was a genuine factory engraved Colt Nay revolver.
But there is more.
Colt Navy No. 17089 appears never to have been fired.
Never fired
The nipples in Colt Navy show no signs of ever having been struck, or fired.
If this is the case and if they are Colt original factory nipples, they they would have COLT'S stamped on one side and PATENT stamped on the other side of the nipple base.
COLT'S
Not wanting to remove the nipples, I made a microscopic inspection.Each Nipple has 'COLT"S' stamped on one side of the flat.
PATENT
Each Nipple has 'Patent' stamped on the other side. Colt has not produced nipples, stamped with COLT'S PATENT since the late 1800s.
Having ruled out Later Engraving, we are looking at refinish
This is original .
All collectors of Colt Navy Pistols place great value on the condition of the cylinder scenes.
The scenes were 'Roll Stamped' and this is often worn so thin, to be impossible to see today.
There have been many cases where this scene has been refinished .
The first thing that needed to be checked was the cylinder scene.
Is it original roll stamping ?.........Has it been enhanced ?
Checking for Enhanced or Refinished
The 'ENGADED 16th MAY 1843' is crystal clear.
Microscopic analysis confirms the engraving is original Roll Stamped.
A microscopic inspection showing the letter ' E ' in ENGAGED, confirms clean, untouched original Roll Stamping as does the rest of the scene.
Serial no. 17089 - Perfect in every detail
Serial no. 17089 - Perfect in every detail
Serial no. 17089 - Perfect in every detail
Original Roll Stamped - Not refinished.
Serial no. 17089 - Perfect in every detail
Serial no. 17089 - Perfect in every detail
In conclusion.....
London Colt Navy Revolver No. 17089
Everybody has an opinion...
Collectors form their opinion on their experience..and sometimes on wishful desire.
Dealers form their opinion on their experience ....or monetary gain.. or keeping their reputation...
I form my opinion on facts...
Over the last decades I have researched many antique firearms for many parties.
It is not always possible to prove a firearm is a copy, but it is usually possible to prove it is genuine because of the knowledge of collectors and experts, the number of genuine firearms the factory produced.... and the small mistakes made by damaged tools.
Like my Grandfather told me some 70 years ago...
" Believe nothing you read or hear and only half of what you see... Think for yourself... and you will grow up to be a very wise man."
In a world of trickery, nobody can be sure of something that may, or may not, have happened 170 years ago.
I can only give you the facts as I have discovered them... and from the facts above there is no doubt that Colt Navy Revolver Serial No. 17089 is a genuine London Factory engraved Colt Revolver
Not "Later Engraved"
The Gothic hand engraved 'COLTS PATENT' on a frame with an 1853 defective No. 9 stamp seems to prove this to be impossible.
Also the serial numbers stamped over engraving on the General Sandfront and Napoleon III Colts as well as 17089 backs this up.
Not a Counterfeit Copy
The deformed No. 9 stamping tool, perfectly matched on other renowned documented Navy Colts forensically proves this is a Genuine London Factory Production.
17089 is a very early Colt Navy as the production numbers started at 17000.
Provenance ?
The object is to seek the truth.
If you have any knowledge of the history of 17089, even if it disagrees with the above, then please pass it on by way of admin@antiquepistols.com.au
CLICK on COLT Serial No. 36691 in the menu bar above to see the result on investigating the other revolver in this cased set.
Factory Original Engraved Colt Confirmed.
General Sandfront
Napoleon III
Lord Cardigan
R. C. Parry M. A.
The fitting in the case is perfection.....
