Rarest Colt SAA of them all!

EIGHT pictures showing the barrel, but none showing the top....where I'll surmise there is no Colt address mark!!!

What's bad is when you are at a gun show and some guy you know rushes up to your table to show you the brand new centerpiece of his collection that he just bought off the internet and he drags this piece of converted trash out of the gun case......

Rarer than this???

single action 1873 73 colt 44 sa saa serial 18 : Antique Guns at GunBroker.com

Chaffee said:

Rarer than this???

single action 1873 73 colt 44 sa saa serial 18 : Antique Guns at GunBroker.com

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Wow....that is a good early number and the seller relisted it a dozen times at a starting price of $5000 and none of the real colt collectors ever started the bidding on it!

I was going to jump on it just now but alas....the seller didn't relist it for the 13th time!

No authority myself, and far from it, but wouldn't that rollmark have read ".44 S & W Special?"

Bob Wright

I asked the guy to post the factory letter indicating cal. and who and when it was shipped.. He must have a letter since he knows it was shipped to Pinkertons... hee hee

Bill

The few early ones that I have seen were stamped "44 Russian & Special".

Chaffee said:

Rarer than this???

single action 1873 73 colt 44 sa saa serial 18 : Antique Guns at GunBroker.com

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That kinda hurt to look at.

Interesting Serial Number Font ( and in only one location? )

Oyeboten said:

That kinda hurt to look at.

Interesting Serial Number Font ( and in only one location? )

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That's because it's a gen-u-ine Spanish or mex copy. Don't know if the seller knows this or just wants to believe it's a Colt. I'm sure he's gotten emails about it. I think it's been listed for a couple of years at least...

coltsixguns said:

I was going to jump on it just now but alas....the seller didn't relist it for the 13th time!

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Don't worry! A friend of mine has one just like it, serial number 12. I'm positive he'd take 5k for his, pretty sure $500, mabey even $100 !

Chaffee said:

Don't worry! A friend of mine has one just like it, serial number 12. I'm positive he'd take 5k for his, pretty sure $500, mabey even $100 !

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I think I read in one of the colt books that the equipment at the factory got stuck and they made several serial number 12's.......just sayin........

I emailed the seller before about the gun also asked him about the blade sight. Look at it , looks wrong to me.

mjfandal said:

I emailed the seller before about the gun also asked him about the blade sight. Look at it , looks wrong to me.

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That sight is as wrong as sin.....I seriously doubt it's even a real colt barrel.

coltsixguns said:

I think I read in one of the colt books that the equipment at the factory got stuck and they made several serial number 12's.......just sayin........

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We do know this much... Somebody could be one Buy Now away from getting stuck.
I noticed that seller's other two recent sells. He sold a engraved mustang for almost $2k. Didn't say factory engraved. Didn't see a box or paperwork. Um. Alrighty then.

COLT Single Action Army .44 Special 1906 First Gen : Revolvers at GunBroker.com

This 1st one has some great SAA facts; enough in fact to discredit the hammer as being original by his own description. Most likely a Christy barrel and cylinder (and stamped as such under the ejection housing).

single action 1873 73 colt 44 sa saa serial 18 : Antique Guns at GunBroker.com

These are fun to discredit by looking for the most blatant discrepancy (of several). A genuine # 18 of course would have a "pinched frame" rear sight.

BobWright said:

No authority myself, and far from it, but wouldn't that rollmark have read ".44 S & W Special?"

Bob Wright

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Now you guys will have to forgive me if I'm wrong on this, because I've only recently started getting deeper into the finer details of Colt SAA production but the information I have and sent to the seller is that Colt did not introduce the .44Spl until 1913. As such, they were not marked ".44 Special". They were marked "Russian and S&W Special .44" until 1931.

I've seen a few of the turn of the century "real" ones marked simply "44 Russian" on the barrels (seems like there was one on GB or GI or maybe GA lately marked like that) and then in the teens you start seeing the dual marked Russian and Special in the 2 line format. After 1929 it would have said "colt single action army 44 special" on the barrel.

There is an example of a dual marked one on Rock Island's auction website now with it's box. It's a 20's gun if I remember correctly.

coltsixguns said:

Wow....that is a good early number and the seller relisted it a dozen times at a starting price of $5000 and none of the real colt collectors ever started the bidding on it!

I was going to jump on it just now but alas....the seller didn't relist it for the 13th time!

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Smart a-s!