Help with 1889 Navy ?

[airplanedriver]

Hi, my first post here and my first Colt firearm. Was looking for a some help to positively identify this old Colt.
It has a nickel finish with some luster still and a 4 1/2" barrel. I did some online reading, cylinder does move free and dosen't lock up well when cocked so Its not safe to shoot even with the correct ammo which I
believe is 38 long colt ? It has colt d.a. 38 on the left side of the barrel and 38 stamped under the aft section of the barrel also. The patent dates read 1884 - 1888 with the other wording on the right side of the barrel upside down ? The pictures that I was able to find online show the patent dates on the top of the barrel. But I could not find any pics of this model with a 4 1/2" barrel. Maybe because of the barrel length they are on the right side, upside down ? I could not get a good pic of this. Serial number is 8044. I can't find any government markings so I believe its a civilian model made in 1890.

Thanks




colt 1889 navy 006.jpgcolt 1889 navy 010.jpgcolt 1889 navy 009.jpgcolt 1889 navy 012.jpgcolt 1889 navy 008.jpg

[twaits]

Welcome to the forum. What you have there is an old renickeled 1889. You can tell because the edges are slightly soft around the sideplate and the trigger and screws should be fire blue and not nickel. Also the hammer should be in the white on the sides and fireblue on the edges. Looks like the plate was done a long time ago and really doesn't look too bad. The serial number puts it's production date at about 1890.
The upside down roll markings are correct for this gun. I asked this question about upside down markings in a recent post here:

Upside down roll markings on 4 1/2 inch 1889s