info needed about 2nd gen. Colt 1851

[stuffy25thia]

I have what I think is a 2nd generation Colt 1851 revolver. C1121 series, serial # 9xxx. What I need to know is what is it worth, it appears to be unfired, but I think the front sight has been replaced. Comes in the box with all the company paper work. Whats really throwing me is it has a steel squared back strap, all my books say it should be silver or brass.

[johnson1942]

is it a colt or who made it and is it a 36 cal?

[stuffy25thia]

It is a 2nd generation Colt, made by Colt sometime in the 70's, it is in .36 cal.

[johnson1942]

did uberti make it for colt? i saw one of those back in the 70/s and i under stood they jobbed them out to some one else but i may have been miss informed. they are a well made revolvers but the history would be interesting.

[gnoahhh]

Colt made a few themselves in the late 70's, most were made in Italy under license. Someone with more knowledge and/or access to serial number records should be able to pinpoint them.

[Omnivore]

Who says it's a steel backstrap and trigger guard? Most of those were silver plated, and tarnished silver can end up looking like blued steel, especially in poor photographs like those. I've seen silver plate mistaken for blued steel a number of times, some of them on the second gen and signature Colts.

That's a square trigger guard by the way, not a "square backstrap". All the reports I've read say the component parts were made in Italy, and then fit and assembled by Colt in the U.S.

That's definitely a replacement front sight. All the originals were teeny brass posts. It's obviously been modified, and if it has the one modification then chances are it's had other things done to it. I'd say any extra value it had for being a "Colt" is mostly gone. I'd start with the price of a new Uberti, which you can get any day of the week in any of several factory variations, and then ask myself if the Colt name on a modified gun is worth anything to me. Ultimately it's worth whatever someone (maybe you) is willing to pay for it. If it doesn't come with a trial period, I'd move on. The second gen and sig Colts come up for sale regularly.

[johnson1942]

if i had your 1851 colt i would ruin it this way. taylor would sleeve the barrel for 38 special and i would buy a 38 special cartridge conversion cylinder for it and shoot cowboy 38 specials in it. have one and man does it shoot to point of aim.

[John Boy]

stuffy ... post all the stamped markings on the revolver. This is the only way to determine who and when it was made by

[bedbugbilly]

My memory may not be too clear on this but while Colt did assemble some - not sure which series - were they not assembled from parts purchased from Italy? Not that that really takes away anything from the "Colt" revolvers series as they seem to have collectibility among some collectors. I'm not a collector but more of a shooter. I would think that a sight change out on one of these would certainly affect the collector's value though. Personally, I wouldn't turn one down if I was able to get it at a decent price . . but if modifications had been made to it, it would be sending lead down range and I wouldn't be buying it for potential collector value. All those things said . . . it's a nice looking Navy!

[taco650]

I have what I think is a 2nd generation Colt 1851 revolver. C1121 series, serial # 9xxx. What I need to know is what is it worth, it appears to be unfired, but I think the front sight has been replaced. Comes in the box with all the company paper work. Whats really throwing me is it has a steel squared back strap, all my books say it should be silver or brass.

My suggestion is to do an online search for a Colt serial number=manufacture date and see if you can date your revolver.

[Char-Gar]

Unertl parts were sent to Hartford where they were assembled, marked and finished by Colt. The SNs started where original production stopped.

[Gtek]

It is a shame that the "real" story is not known. I have chased this for over a year reading and digging every place I could find, every trail contradicting the last.
Some tales seem very close but may be altered in a new story line. If it has Colt stamped on left side probably is and for a minimum of seventy five bucks you can contact Colt for letter. In the collection I have a pair of 1860's that I believe are real 2nd Gen's, their S/N's are identical four digits with US as a prefix on one and US as suffix on second. Grips have a 3/8" long engraved block with initials. Are they real? Are they Colt's? Are they Italian parts? I bought them because I was allowed to mic, pin, and slug them and they are the smoothest and tightest ones I have ever held. They did not have boxes and I don't care, I bought them to make smoke and get them dirty and enjoy them.

[Ragnarok]

I 'researched' the gen 2 Colts a few years back while trying to decide whether I wanted to buy one(pay for one!).

As near as I could determine...these were actually made in two separate batches. The first production guns being fitted/assembled/finished by Colt from Uberti provided parts.

The second production run being sourced from Uberti by a third party and finished in the US. Apparently these 'Colts' came from Uberti more or less as complete revolvers to be finished-up to Colt standards and sold as licenced Colt Products...

They produced Dragoon..Navy...1860 Army...1861 Navy...etc...pretty much all models of the more popular percussion Colts were produced/reproduced...The first production run that actually had Colt's participation in production seem to have more value. The second bunch perhaps worth a bit less. I would say a gen.2 Colt Navy with a replaced front sight would've pretty much lost any collector value it may have had and simply be a fantastic shooter!

[Char-Gar]

I have had a couple of 2nd. Model Dragoons assembled, marked and finished by Colt from Uberti parts. I only have one left and here it is. Disassemble one and you can see the rough finish of the internal parts which are typical of Uberti percussion revolvers.

I am old enough to remember when these first came out and I don't understand why these is so much confusion. About them. Wilson's books on the Colt revolvers carried the serial numbers and year of production of these revolvers. I don't have it at hand, but as best as I can remember 1982 was the year production began. However I could be wrong on that date.

There was a later batch of Colt branded percussion revolvers that Colt had nothing to do with other than the name. I think there were called "Signature" models.

[swathdiver]

Those C-Series guns were made in the early 1970s and are not part of the F-Series Black Powder Series guns. Mine has that gorgeous Colt Royal Blue finish that is just stunning to the eye and yes, all of these are squarebacks. Mine was made in 1971. Someone has changed the front site on the one in the OPs photo.

[Ithaca Gunner]

Okay, I dug mine out of the safe, sr#9446. I know I bought it in the early 70's but what year, I'm not sure of. It has the same box as the OP's with scant instructions. Yes, mine has the tiny bead front sight and Colt Royal Blue, which actually looks blue instead of black.

If I remember right, the first ones out were cased sets, either Robert E. Lee, or U.S. Grant commeratives, and plain individual guns came out a bit later? (memory's a bit fuzzy on that) Somewhere around here I have the original Shooting Times magazine announcing them, 1970-1971. These were second generation guns, the serial numbers picking up where Colt changed from the first model Navy to the second. Guns like Char-Gar's Dragoon picked up with the end of Dragoon production in 1860, but were a different series. Then came the Signature Series in the 1990's, three different series guns from 1970-1990's.