How about some help from the smart guys:
I just bought a Colt 1862 pocket in .36. It bears all of the features of a 2nd generation with matching serial numbers at 58324. (Barrel, frame, trigger guard, backstrap and cylinder.) Address is on the top of the barrel where it is supposed to be. .36 cal on the left side of the trigger guard. "Colt Patent" on the left side of the case hardened frame and on the cylinder. Roll engraved stagecoach scene on the rebated five shot cylinder. The back strap does not have the signature so I don't think it is a third generation. The bluing is of a quality that is slightly inferior (although it is still beautiful) to that of a Signature Series 1861 I just bought. This, I am given to understand, is another mark of the 2nd gens.
The serial number fits within the final runs probably from 1984 according to the "History of Colt Blackpowder Reproductions." Every feature of the pistol matches the description found in that publication accept that it does not have a squareback trigger guard.
I doubt the trigger guard has been replaced for three reasons:
1. The serial numbers match.
2. The characteristics of the number stamp used to imprint the serial number match.
3. The screws on the pistol are in such condition that they appear to be unmolested.
Did some of these pistol sneak through with a standard trigger guard?
I just bought a Colt 1862 pocket in .36. It bears all of the features of a 2nd generation with matching serial numbers at 58324. (Barrel, frame, trigger guard, backstrap and cylinder.) Address is on the top of the barrel where it is supposed to be. .36 cal on the left side of the trigger guard. "Colt Patent" on the left side of the case hardened frame and on the cylinder. Roll engraved stagecoach scene on the rebated five shot cylinder. The back strap does not have the signature so I don't think it is a third generation. The bluing is of a quality that is slightly inferior (although it is still beautiful) to that of a Signature Series 1861 I just bought. This, I am given to understand, is another mark of the 2nd gens.
The serial number fits within the final runs probably from 1984 according to the "History of Colt Blackpowder Reproductions." Every feature of the pistol matches the description found in that publication accept that it does not have a squareback trigger guard.
I doubt the trigger guard has been replaced for three reasons:
1. The serial numbers match.
2. The characteristics of the number stamp used to imprint the serial number match.
3. The screws on the pistol are in such condition that they appear to be unmolested.
Did some of these pistol sneak through with a standard trigger guard?