1850's Colt Navy Revolver

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Bill Daniel

New member
I have a friend who is a Civil War buff and would like to have a 1859 (?on year) Colt Navy revolver with matching serial numbers on its parts (not recently re-assembled from parts). Anyone know of a source or on line site to search for this. Any idea as to how much this revolver might cost.

Thanks,
Bill Daniel
Life Member NRA
 
There were two Navy models, the 1851 and the 1861, both in .36 caliber. Most used cap and ball revolver was the 1860 Colt Army, followed by the Remingtons(mostly 1863 model) both in .44 caliber.

If your friend wants to spend a lot of money he can get a well worn junker for 700-800 dollars or spend a couple of thousand for one with lots of original finish. These are guns that are no longer shot due to their value. Antique gun dealers are the way to go, can't make any recommendations, but if he lives close to Allentown, PA, the Forks of the Delaware gun shows, held several times a year, are a good source. Bring lots of money, there are many dealers.

My advise, unless he must have an original is to get a replica made by a good company like Uberti.
 
Hi, guys,

I agree with Ron. Around here (MD) any shootable 1851 Navy will bring close to $1500, and that is with no original finish.

A good one with 80% finish can go $6000-8000 or more. 1861 Navies have less attraction but they are scarcer, so the prices balance out.

FWIW, I recommend a Uberti gun as IMHO, the Colt Blackpowder series is not well made. (They are Uberti anyway, but the guns are finished in this country and they over polish them, rounding corners, dishing screw holes and generally making a mess.)

I think the Colt ones are the only ones with safety pins, though, so if the gun is to be shot or carried, those would be preferable.

Jim
 
I have to disagree. I own a real 'colt' signature series 1851 navy and another 'uberti' 1860 clone. Fit and finish is much better on the Colt, bluing is THICK and the action is tighter. Neat accents like silver plated backstrap etc.

I spent nearly $400 on the Colt and just about $100 on the uberti.. there is a substantial difference in price. Not sure about the long term investmant in an uberti, but a Colt (no matter where it was made) will always be worth about what you paid for it.

Complaints I have with the Colt Navy.. its noisy, its harder to clean and harder to load.. why? The holes are smaller.:D Its still way cool.

On the good side Its more accurate than my army model. Wild Bill hockock carried 2 of them and it was alomost as widespread (if not more so) in use on both sides of the civil war.

A "black box" Colt BP reveolver can run $600 -900 or so, while a real relic with no finish can run $1500 +.

Bottom line is, if you want to shoot it, you should get a replica. The best looking ones are the new Colts.

The are a variety of sources for the real thing.. best to start at http://www.gunbroker.com/
 
To find an original 19th century Colt Navy, your friend might pick up a copy of Man at Arms, the NRA magazine for gun collectors. It contains a lot of ads from antique gun dealers, as well as from gun shows specializing in collectors' firearms. The ads in any particular issue may or may not offer a Navy model. But they'll at least give your friend an idea of the kinds of sources that are out there, along with some contact info to begin his search.

HTH.

BTW, about ten years ago I had a chance to buy a NIB black-box Colt's 1851 Navy reissue. Beautiful gun, beautifully made. I didn't act quickly enough--it's another one that got away.
 
I have not shot a "genuine" Colt Blackpowder 1851 (I got rid of the only one I ever bought because it was so loose and such a POS) but many of the repros often don't shoot as well as the originals because the rifling is not made for lead bullets/balls.

I have shot the older Colt repros (made by Uberti) and they were pretty good and even had good rifling and safety pins. The originals are quite accurate and I think Colt may have had something with the gain twist, though the original Remingtons and Starrs also seem to shoot well.

Maybe it was just that the originals were made as guns, where the repros are intended to be nothing but toys, but I think the originals really were made better. That being said, the modern guns have far better steel, and use steel where the originals were iron, so they are safer.

For financial reasons, of course, shooting a repro makes much more sense than shooting an original.

Jim
 
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