New Interest In Old Colts

When Samuel Colt patented a new kind of pistol in 1835 in England, then the hub of small-arms making (he patented it in the U.S. a year later), he gave the world the first practical pistol with a revolving cylinder—from which the word "revolver" probably sprang. The idea of revolving firearms was 200 or more years old when Colt made his first wooden model, but Colt's pistol with its single barrel and cylinder of cartridges had the simplicity and genius that makes an invention a success.

The revolver seen in Western movies is almost always the Colt Frontier, first produced in 1873 for the Army in a .45-caliber model. Colt soon produced another in .44-40 so that cowboys could shoot the same ammunition in it that they used in their carbines. The Frontier (known also as the Peacemaker or Equalizer, since it made little men equal to big) soon became the standard of the West, though not to the extent the movies would have us believe.

In the East the Frontier retailed for $16. In the West it was nearly as negotiable as gold dust, then worth $16 an ounce. It couldn't be called a scarce antique—about 314,000 were made. But it belongs to several legends, including the legend of Samuel Colt, the legends of cavalry charges and cowboys and gun fighters. A secondhand Single Action, as collectors call the gun, sells for $100 to $250, depending on condition. It cost only $37.50 new in 1941. Tourists search the West for them, not knowing they cost as much in Albuquerque as in New York.

These prices are nothing compared to what earlier Colts command. Patersons, the first made between 1836 and 1841, now sell for $1,200 to $2,000. The Walker or Whitneyville Walker in first-class condition brings even more ($2,500). These huge guns—they had nine-inch barrels and weighed four pounds nine ounces—were the biggest ever carried by our Army and the first revolver that any army used. A thousand were ordered in 1847 for the Army by a Capt. Sam Walker who was fighting in the Mexican War. These are the rarest Colts. The only known Walker in a fitted case and with accessories (bullet mold, nipple wrench and so on) recently sold for $10,000.

There are more collectors who want Colts than there are for any other gun—maybe 10 times as many. Anyone buying or selling a Colt who is not an expert had better consult a dealer who is. James E. Serven, of Santa Ana, Calif., author of Colt Firearms, is such a man; so is Herb Glass of Bullville, N.Y. For one thing, there is confusion among noncollectors in telling Walkers from less valuable Dragoons. For another, well-made fakes are beginning to appear.

Perhaps the greatest tribute to Sam Colt and his incomparable Frontier Model is that two companies are now producing replicas: Sturm, Ruger & Company, of Southport, Conn., brought out its Single Six in 1953, and the Great Western Arms Corp., of Los Angeles began marketing its Great Western Frontier revolvers this year.

Inventor sam colt was said to have gotten the idea for his revolver from watching a ship's steering wheel revolve while he was serving as a seaman in his youth. Colt pistols are still made today in Hartford, Conn., where Colt was born in 1814.

Frontier model colt, or Peacemaker, affectionately referred to by collectors as the Single-Action (because the trigger cannot cock and fire gun in modern "double-action" style), was first produced in 1873. In .45 caliber it was the most powerful sidearm issued to the U.S. Army, has been called the gun that opened up the West.

Anson chase colt, an experimental model, is considered the forerunner of the Colt line. It was made about 1833 by Chase, a toolmaker, after a design by Colt. Two Baltimore gunsmiths claimed to have made even earlier models and hounded the inventor while he was touring the U.S. demonstrating laughing gas as "Dr. Coult."

Paterson colt, so named because it was made in Paterson, N.J., is a rare piece (about 2,700 manufactured) which, depending on condition and type, now sells for $1,200 to $2,000. Early models like this .36 caliber holster pistol had a folding trigger which only appeared in position when the weapon was cocked. The Paterson was Colt's first revolver.