Colt Conversions

Colt 1st Model Richards Conversion. Made in the 1870s. 8” Barrel in .44 Colt Centerfire. This is a very fine 1st Model Colt Richards Conversion. The barrel is very fine with 30-40% of the original blue on the barrel. The frame and cylinder are very sharp but have little to no original finish. Cylinder still has most of the scene. Grips are very good with approximately 40% of the original...

Navy Conversion .36 Caliber revolver. Made in 1870’s .36 caliber with a 7 ½” barrel. Absolutely beautiful gun with most of the original finish. Barrel and cylinder have 90% of the original blue. Frame has beautiful bright case colors. Grips are excellent with original varnish. Both trigger guard and back strap have approximately 20-25% of the original silver. Top notch Colt 1861 Navy...

Colt 1851 Navy Conversion Revolver. Post-Civil war factory conversion to centerfire. Note that the hammer has a conical firing pin. Aside from the factory work this revolver has additional work done by a gunsmith of the period, such as the barrel is shortened to 4 ½”. He left the one line Colt address intact. The ejector housing and rod are the gunsmith’s own engineering, which actually...

Colt 1862 Pocket Navy Conversion. Made in the late 1860s. .38 Colt with a 4 ½” barrel. Gun is in near excellent condition. Barrel has 90% of the original finish. Very good case colors on the frame with the left hand side having brighter case colors than the right. Cylinder scene is excellent, but the cylinder did not retain the blue as well as the rest of the gun. The cylinder is...

Colt 1861 Navy Conversion. Gun has approximately 90-95% of the original nickel finish done at the time of the conversion. Gun is all matching. Action works perfectly. Grips are very good with 90% original varnish. Very fine 1861 Navy Conversion.

Colt 1862 Pocket. Made in late 1860’s-1870’s .38 RF caliber with a 3” barrel. Metal has a dark gray patina with light pitting on the metal. Grips are very good. Action works well.

Colt 10th cavalry identified 1860 1st model Richards conversion. Colt 1860 1st model Richards Conversion inscribed to Captain Nicholas Nolan 10th Cavalry. Very historical gun! This gun belonged to a Civil War Cavalry Officer, then a Captain in the legendary 10th Cavalry “Buffalo Soldiers”. This gun has had the metal cleaned, but all markings remain. Very good...

Colt Round Barrel Pocket Navy Conversion .38 Rimfire. 92-94% nickel on frame, barrel and cylinder. Very good grips.

Colt Pocket Navy Conversion .38 caliber revolver. 50% of the original nickel finish. Some pitting on metal. Some of the metal has been cleaned.

Colt 1st Model Richards Conversion Revolver. Made in 1871. Excellent condition with 90%+ original nickel finish. Beautiful grips. Cylinder scene is excellent. Gun works perfectly. Really nice example!

Colt 1st Model Richards Conversion. Made in the 1870’s. .44 Colt. Beautiful gun in excellent condition with 90% of the original nickel. Excellent grips. Gun is all matching. Beautiful piece!

Colt 1860 Army Long Cylinder Conversion Revolver (actually made from parts using new cylinders). See Study of Colt Conversions by Bruce McDowell. See pages 403-413 for a discussion and photos of a 4-screw Colt Army with exact same “conversion” as this one. McDowell suggests that approximately 60 were made. Rare Colt Conversion. Note: Grips are very good later...

Colt 2nd Model Richards Conversion. Referred to as the Transition Model Type II Richards, found in serial number range 190000 to 199000. The most visible difference between the type one is that the hammer cuts through the recoil shield and directly strikes the back of the cartridge, therefore there is no rear sight on the recoil shield. This example has all matching numbers on frame, barrel,...

Scarce 12 Stop Colt 1st Model Richards Conversion. Metal has a dark gray patina with some pitting. These were the first of the Richards Conversions with the 12 cylinder stops. Very scarce gun!  

Colt 1849 Pocket Revolver Converted to Single Shot. Made in 1860. This gun has been converted to a tip up .32 Rimfire gun. There is a lever on the underside of the barrel that flips to the side to unlock the barrel. Very unusual. All work looks to be done in period of use.

Colt Baby Dragoon Converted to Single Shot. Extremely small bore. Much smaller than a .22 caliber. Unusual conversion. The cylinder was removed and the recoil shield was ground flush with the frame. The barrel sits on a block of wood that has been fitted to the frame. All of the work is nicely done. Very unusual. This is from an old collection of "gunsmith...

Colt 1849 Pocket Revolver Converted to Single Shot. Converted to .32 Centerfire. Made in 1864. Unusual conversion where the cylinder was taken out, the frame was shortened and the frame was dovetailed so the barrel would fit and lock into place. To load or reload, the barrel was twisted out of the dovetail.

Colt 1862 Police Single Shot Conversion Revolver. Made in 1863. .36 caliber percussion. Gun has been very crudely converted to single shot percussion by removing the cylinder, plugging the barrel with a percussion nipple and mounting the barrel directly to the rear of the frame. Very unusual and charming in its crudeness.

Colt Pocket Navy Conversion to .38 Rimfire caliber revolver. Factory engraved and marked “E” on barrel, frame trigger guard and backstrap. Numbers match except for the wedge. Fine old pearl grips fit well and are contemporary to the age of the revolver. The engraving is the “ Running Vine Style” usually attributed to Gustave Young Cylinder scene shows some wear....

Colt 1860 Richards Conversion 2nd Type Revolver. Made in the 1870’s. Very nice gun with 95% of the original finish. This gun has all matching numbers. Grips are very good. The right hand side has a chip missing. Cylinder scene is excellent. This is a second model with the 1871 and 1872 patent dates. Action is nice and tight. Bore is good with some pitting. Very...