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      • 24k gold Rampant Colt trademark on frame raised gold inlay and flush 24k patent dates

      • 24k gold Kentucky thoroughbred horse, the Kentucky state horse, raised inlay on recoil shield finished in Italian Bulino style detail

      • 24k gold and platinum Bowie Knife on right side of frame 24k handle raised inlay and Bowie blade pure platinum raised inlay

      • 24k gold and platinum Kentucky gray squirrel, raised inlay of pure platinum finished in fine line detail with 24k gold raised acorns on loading gate

      • 24k gold two raised acorns with engraved oak leaf in recoil shield recess

      • Six gold plated custom made .22 RF cartridges

      • Trigger: front has been finished with hand cut checkering

      • Cylinder is flush inlaid in one wide and one narrow gold line

      • Cylinder rear line is flush engraved in “feather pattern” design

      • Cylinder flutes are outlined in flush 24k gold line

      • Cylinder flutes are flush scroll engraved at the front

      • Cylinder front engraved in scroll pattern

      • Cylinder pin is inlaid with a raised gold dot with star pattern engraving on end

      • Turned boss is engraved in rope pattern

      • Qualified screws

      • The following screws are engraved:

      o Three mainframe screws

      o Butt screw

      o Front trigger guard screw

      o Ejector rod housing screw

SECTION II

       COLT’S PERCUSSION REVOLVERS

THE PATERSON REVOLVERS

      Sam Colt accomplished amazing things in his life. Born in 1814, he spent a year at sea and then, at what we today would consider the tender age of 18, began touring the United States and Canada as a showman. He adopted the stage identity “Dr. Coult of Calcutta” and entertained crowds with laughing gas.

      The gas was a means to an end, however, as his act raised funds to hire gunsmiths in Albany, Baltimore and Hartford. These gunsmiths eventually produced a plethora of firearm designs. This, too, was a wondrous accomplishment considering the relative complexity of the revolvers and the relatively primitive state of the machinery of mass production.

      In 1835, Colt traveled to Europe where he obtained patents in England and France – the countries, it was generally believed, most likely to pirate his ideas if he first patented in the United States. (In those days it took weeks, not hours, to visit those countries in person.) His first U.S. patent was granted on February 25, 1836, and the next month, he chartered the Patent Arms Manufacturing Company in Paterson, New Jersey, with sales offices and showroom in New York City.

      The Paterson-based Patent Arms Manufacturing Company lasted six years. Problems with mechanical reliability caused by immature designs and dirty powder often caused the guns to fail when tested. Although Colt repeaters, both handguns and rifles, did prove themselves in the Indian Wars in Florida and Texas, they did not win government approval or patronage, and the Patent Arms Manufacturing Company ceased operations in 1842.

       PROTOTYPES

      Sam Colt commissioned a number of prototypes from gunsmiths in Albany, Baltimore (John Pearson), and Hartford between 1832 and 1836: nine rifles, one shotgun and 16 pistols. The value of these prototypes on the open market would be extremely high – perhaps in the hundreds of thousands of dollars – and cannot be hypothetically evaluated.

      The muzzleloading revolving rifles operated by pulling a large lever, which turned the cylinder and cocked the internal hammer. They fired, of course, when the trigger was pulled. Anson Chase and W.H. Rowe of Hartford built the 1832 takedown model. The barrel assembly unscrewed by hand from the frame.

      The cylinders of prototype rifles were enclosed, both front and rear, by flash plates. Upon firing, the plate could – and sometimes did – deflect flame from burning powder downward to set off other loads. These “flash plates” were deleted from production models. The inlaid stocks are checkered. The guns lacked forearms; if the off hand supported the gun in traditional style – i.e., directly below the barrel – it would almost certainly be burned by expanding gas.

      John Pearson built a number of Colt prototypes in 1835. The size of these prototypes ranged from 4 lb., 4 oz. for the hefty .53-caliber martial pistol, with its barrel machined and bored from rifle stock, to diminutive .33-caliber pocket pistols. Some of these pistols included integral bayonets, which allowed the user to defend himself with the pistol when it was empty. Barrel assemblies were later stamped “S. COLTS PATENT FEBR. 25 1836.” Trigger assemblies were built either to drop down upon cocking the hammers or fold down manually.

       THE ANSON CHASE EXPERIMENTAL

      This gun is probably one of the very first of the Colt prototypes. It already has the general configuration that Colt ultimately built into his 1836 Patent. Of course, it has a trigger guard and regular trigger, showing that Colt thought of these features at a very early date. This gun was probably built from 1831 to 1832. The gun’s features include: .50 caliber, a five shot straight round cylinder, a 10.25 inch octagonal barrel, round trigger guard, blade and hammer notch sights and a rounded butt. The overall length of the gun is 14.25 inches. This prototype has been held in the Colt factory collection.

       CUTLASS OR KNIFE PISTOL

      One of the last of the Paterson experimental pistols, Colt designed a double action Knife Pistol as a combination Bowie knife and repeating pistol. Because of pre-Civil War black powder’s unreliability, this pistol could have proved handy in close-quarters combat. The exposed trigger served to cock, revolve the cylinder and fire the gun. The extended, sweeping “knuckle bow” trigger housing protected the hand from sword cuts and served as a loading lever when lowered. These specifications were: six shot, .38 cal. with a six-inch barrel.

       EXPERIMENTAL DAGGER REVOLVER

      This pistol was made between 1832 and 1835, just before Colt took out patents and before the Paterson factory was in operation. The dagger was never included in any of the regular production guns, but it appears in patent drawings. Shields covering the nipples and chamber mouths were also discarded before production guns were built. The gun was 7.25 inches in length with a 3.875-inch octagonal barrel. Built in .32 caliber, the straight round cylinder carried five shots. Because the design was for a folding trigger, there was no trigger guard. Sights were a mid-barrel blade and a hammer notch. The butt was rounded. This prototype has been held in the Colt factory collection.

       COLT’S PROMOTION MODEL REVOLVER

      This beautifully engraved firearm, now a part of the Colt Memorial Collection in the Wadsworth Athenaeum in Hartford, Connecticut, was built in 1835. Sam Colt was, after all, as much a promoter as he was an inventor and this gun bridged those sides of his personality. It measured 7.25 inches length overall and had a rounded butt. The .40-cal., 3.25-inch barrel was octagonal and the straight round cylinder held five shots. Sights

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