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Winning Bid US $15000 First bid $15000 Quantity 1 # of bids 1 Time left Auction has ended   Started 2025-07-28 00:00:00 Ended 2025-11-21 22:35:25

Colt, 1847 Walker, CAL: 44 BP, MFG: 1847, SN: C Company No. 4, Single Action Percussion Revolver, 9'' Barrel.



HISTORY: The Colt 1847 Walker revolver was a massive 4 1/2 pound handgun made for Samuel Walker of the US Mounted Rifles (he also served with the Texas Rangers) as a way to equip mounted troops with greater firepower than single-shot carbines. The Walker was the first true military handgun made by Colt, and despite its problems (nearly a third of the guns procured by the military would be returned to Colt for repairs, and more than a few blew up) it would save Colt from bankruptcy after the commercial failure of his Paterson revolver of 1836.



Only 1,100 of these guns were made, 1,000 for the military and 100 for commercial sale. The military ones were issued to 5 companies of Mounted Rifles, and can be identified by their factory unit marks for Companies A through E. Roughly half of them were delivered in time to see active use in the Mexican-American War, but all of them would see use for many years in the hands of the US military, the Texas Rangers, the Confederate military, and in civilian hands. The design would evolve into the Colt Dragoon revolvers and ultimately lead to the 1851 Navy and 1860 Army designs, arguably the most iconic muzzle loading revolvers ever made.



These guns are incredibly rare, It is estimated that fewer than 200 original colt walkers are still around today. There are many contributing factors to their rarity; there weren't many made in the first place and they were made of iron, not steel, so they degrade faster and were more prone to impurities in the metal of the cylinder and barrel that would cause catastrophic failures. These guns are commonly faked due to their monetary and historical value. Some fakes sell for upwards of $100,000 based on who made them or how well they are made.



CONDITION: The wood grips are very good, solid with a few shallow dings and scratches as well as an edge chip on the bottom corner of the left side. The gun metal grey is partially covered with a layer of brown patina of varying thickness. The gun has speckled clean pitting throughout. Bore is good, the rifling is strong but slightly darkened with some clean pitting throughout. Mechanically solid, seems to function well. The barrel holds a brass blade front sight, a U-notch rear sight is cut into the hammer.



MARKINGS: The barrel has the following markings: the front of the barrel has constant vice marks. The left barrel flat is marked ''C Company No 4'' with some pitting obscuring part of the marking. The top flat of the barrel is marked ''Address Sam L Colt New York City'', these markings are worn down substantially. The right flat of the barrel is marked ''US 1847'' the 8 is almost entirely worn away, the top half of the 8 is barely visible and the bottom half has almost entirely worn away. The right side of the barrel in front of the cylinder is marked ''SK''. The barrel wedge has '' C Com-Y No 4'' marked on the bottom. The factory Colt engravings on the cylinder are still visible but have faded substantially ''Model U.S.M.R.'' is still visible. ''C Com-Y No 4'' is stamped on the cylinder. There is ''4'' and ''JCE'' stamped into the rear face of the cylinder between the percussion nipples. ''C Company No 4'' is stamped on the left side of the frame below the cylinder. The frame has some vice marks on both sides. The brass trigger guard has ''C Company No 4'' stamped under the cylinder and a faded ''JCB'' stamped on the front strap of the brass trigger guard; this is John C. Beaumont's inspector's cartouche is found on pistols and cutlasses 1852-1855. The bottom of the wooden grip is stamped ''C 4'', this stamp is not visible unless the gun is disassembled.



OUR OPINION: These guns are nearly impossible to authenticate due to the incredibly limited examples we have to compare them to. The only way to know for sure whether or not it's original is knowing whose hands it has passed through. Unfortunately the consignor has passed away but he was under the impression this was an original walker. We have consulted several very knowledgeable professionals who all gave us different answers as to what they believe this gun is. Due to the age soiling of the parts, the markings, and other factors we believe that at least some of these parts are original. While we don't know the full story of where this gun came from or whether or not it is original the gun itself tells part of a story. The inspector's cartouche on the front strap portion of the trigger guard may mean that this was an original Colt that had some kind of issue and was shipped back to Colt for repairs (as approximately a third of them were). The mark would have likely been stamped into the gun between 1852-55 after Colt made the repairs to the gun. Alternatively this could be a fake inspector's cartouche that was stamped into the gun by someone meticulously building a nearly indistinguishable copy of an original walker. This gun has many other similar markings, parts, and wear patterns that have led us to believe this gun falls somewhere between an original Walker and a very well done reproduction/imitation with some original parts from an original Walker. Antique, No FFL Req. - Value: 30000 to 50000

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Price

Colt, 1847 Walker, CAL: 44 BP, MFG: 1847, SN: C Company No. 4, S... Item # 4518 This auction is over. No new bids can be placed. Price: US $15000

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