4191 NIMSCHKE ENGRAVED COLT FIRST GEN SAA REVOLVER.

Category Firearms & Military
Auction Currency USD
Start Price 7,500.00 USD
Estimated at 15,000.00 - 25,000.00 USD
Cal. 45 Colt. S# 39487. Bbl. 7 1/2", with Hartford address. This timeless Colt revolver features 75% coverage of New York engraving with motifs by master engraver L. D. Nimschke. It was common practice for the large New York wholesale houses to send revolvers to the shops of Nimschke and other famous engravers to be ornamented to suit their customers' tastes. Frame, bbl., grip straps, and cyl. have vine-type foliate scroll engraving with punch-dot backgrounds. Full nickel finish. Black powder frame with six shot fluted cyl. 2 piece pearl grips with a raised Mexican eagle and snake on the right panel. Bbl., frame, and grip straps have matching numbers. UNATTACHED ACCESSORIES: Colt Archive Properties letter listing the following information: "Serial Number: 39487 / Caliber: .45/c / Barrel Length: Not Listed / Finish: Blue / Type of Stocks: Not Listed / Shipped To: J. P. Moores Sons / Address: New York, New York / Date of Shipment: November 3, 1877 / Number of Same Type Guns in Shipment: 25". Also included is a seven-page letter from noted author R. L. Wilson. The letter discusses the strongly stylized embellishments of L. D. Nimschke on this revolver. Mr. Wilson states that the Mexican Eagle and ornamentation on this New York engraved revolver are "a clear indication of the market for which this revolver was intended. The 7 and 1/2" bbl. and the 45 cal. are also indicative of frontier use, whether in Mexico or possibly even the United States". CONDITION: This colorful revolver shows signs of frontier use. Bbl. and Action retain a 20% nickel finish interspersed with areas showing heavy wear and scattered pitting. The grips are also a testament to frontier use, with chips at the toe and heel, additional chips, and small cracks around the action. Sound action. A lightly pitted bore retains intact rifling. (01-24323/DS). ANTIQUE. $15,000-25,000.