The M1860 Army Revolver is considered by many to be the most beautiful revolver that Colt ever produced. It's graceful lines and near perfect balance make it as fun to behold as it is to shoot. It is the quintessential Civil War revolver as nearly 130,000 were purchased by the US Government during the war; making it the most widely used revolver of the conflict. It is safe to say that no Civil War weapons collection is complete without an M1860.
This particular revolver is an excellent example of the war's most popular hand gun. This M1860 is in good shape. It is all complete with no reproduction parts, although the barrel and frame appear to have been renumbered. It's serial number is in the 73,000 range which puts its date of manufacture in 1862.
It is one of the many M1860's purchased by the US Government for use in the War; as indicated a faint, but legible inspector's cartouche on the grip.
This revolver shows a lot of good honest use, but remains in very good mechanical condition. Externally, the steel components of this Colt show some minor "salt-and-pepper" pitting. This combined with some honest "holster wear" on the gun's muzzle shows years of legitimate use as a trusty "fight'n iron". The Colt address on the top of the barrel is faint, but legible.
Mechanically, this revolver is in very good condition. The lock up is nice and tight with no major wobble in the cylinder. The action is very smooth. The hammer has a positive half and full cock.
There lock up between the barrel and the arbor is good with very little discernable "wiggle". The bore is in good shape with good rifling and some scattered pitting throughout. The cylinder matches the barrel in condition. Each one of the chambers is good with no major pitting or erosion.
Overall, this is a great "shooter" Colt Army for even the most budget-minded collector.
