COLT 1860 ARMY REVOLVER FLUTED CYLINDER 44 CALIBER

The Colt 1860 “Army” was an improved version of the earlier 1851 “Navy” pistol that was altered to accept .454 Cal round balls instead of the .375 Cal balls used in the Navy. This example was made in the first year of production, and is in impeccable condition for its age with very little in the way of pitting, likely saved by the fact that it had been nickel plated. Quite interestingly this revolver is built with the incredibly rare fluted cylinder, vastly decreasing weight and only made possible through the use of specialty steel in its construction. The marking of “PATENTED SEPT 10th 1850 is visibly marked on the cylinder along with the serial number of the revolver “693” as proof that it is an original part. Coinciding with the lightened cylinder was the reduction of the barrel length to 7.5″ as opposed to the regular 8″ barrel more commonly seen.
The original owner of this revolver was kind enough to inscribe his name and regiment upon the backstrap of his revolver, and although it is difficult to read, the inscription was made out to ” Lieut. Col. Aug. J. Warner 40th N.Y.V”. Quite luckily the most recent owner of this pistol has tracked down a substantial amount of information on Lieutenant Colonel Agustus Warner and his time amongst the New York Volunteer Infantry, copies of these records are supplied with the pistol.