American Revolver Company

O

oldmaster111

New member
I inherited a hammerless, top break revolver from my Grandfather. Caliber .38 s&w, 5 shot. It is in excellent condition and a very light blue on the metal. Almost transparent blue. My father remembers his dad shooting this gun for 4th of July. My dad was born in 1917 so I figure the gun the be at least that old. It is marked "American Revolver Company" which is a name I can seem to find nothing about. I realize that many companies copied the S&W style of break open, hammerless revolvers but was wondering if anyone else had information on the company that made this gun. Thanks.
 
For obvious reasons, the name "American" has been used by many companies over the years. Both H&R and Iver Johnson used it. IIRC, the latter, when it went to the transfer bar safety (advertised as "hammer the hammer") for its first line revolvers, continued to make the old model under the name American Arms Co. The idea, of course, was to not use the IJ name on an obsolete revolver.

They are reasonably well made guns and have a mild collector value, but only in new or near new condition. Values generally run around $150-200 for top condition, under $100 if not as good. Well worn or broken ones have almost no value. As with any of those old guns, reliability is low, and parts breakage is common. I recommend against firing the gun.

Jim
 
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