This is probably one of the most colorful Colt Model 1877 revolvers that we've ever seen.  There has GOT to be one heck of an interesting story behind this amazing gun!  I only wish we knew what it was!  The leather holster and belt are quite stunning with hand-made relief tooled floral patterns on the holster.  Initials "FCA" are embroidered onto the top.  The belt is carved "MEXICO" on one end and "1903" on the other side.  The leather is double ply with a softer leather stitched onto the inside of the holster and belt.  This is an absolutely fantastic Mexican Revolution era rig and this isn't even half as interesting as the gun its held for the past 104 years.  

For starters, when we purchased this revolver we just thought it was a nice looking gun in its original holster rig.    It was in a pretty desirable configuration with the 6" barrel and chambered in the larger .41 Caliber known as the Colt Thunderer.  The ivory grips were the main reason we decided to letter it with Colt.  To our surprise, not only did it letter with nickel finish and Ivory grips, but  it shipped to the Federal Government of Mexico in Mexico City on May 27, 1897 with 80 guns all factory engraved "Policia del Distrito Federal".   The only trouble was this marking was nowhere to be found.  After some careful study, we finally were able to locate an area on the left side of the barrel where the marking had been removed.  Its so well-done that its not really noticeable.  But why?  Did some Federale take it home?  Or did he get bush-wacked by a Revolutionary who built this great holster rig around his newly acquired prize.  If so, one can only imagine that in the best interests of self-preservation, it might be a good idea to removed the Mexican Police markings. Or, could this have just been sold to the general public when it became obsolete and had its markings removed as part of some de-comissioning process. The possibilities seem endless.

Overall, condition is NRA Antique Fine+ condition with 80% original nickel on the frame, 75% on the cylinder, 95% on the triggerguard and backstrap.  The barrel and ejector housing have 90% nickel except where the Mexican Federal Police markings were removed.  Excellent screws throughout that retain much of their original fire blued finish.  Back of hammer and sides of trigger also show original fire blue.  Excellent ivory grips have turned slightly yellow over the past 110 years but look nice with great wood to metal fit showing little to no shrinkage or age cracks.  Very good mechanics work well in both single and double action modes as of this writing.  Good+ bore with strong rifling shows some light pits and frosting from black powder usage, but strong overall without much usage. 

The holster rig is completely untouched and has not seen conditioner or saddle soap in decades.  The leather is still nice and pliable but a little dry.  The belt and holster are stitched with two layers of leather, a tougher thicker cow hid on the outside and a thinner and softer leather on the inside.  As you can see in the photos, much of the original thread for the  stitching has deteriorated but the leather is in quite good shape.  Cartridge belt is carved "1903" and "Mexico" on opposite sides with a couple dozen .41 Caliber cartridge loops as well as a few smaller loops for a smaller caliber pocket pistol.  Both the belt and the holster are border-lined with embroidered lines of tightly woven thread.  This appears to be the same thread used in stitching the initial "FCA" on the holster.  The holster has been some nice floral vignettes relief-tooled across the front.  As you can see from the photos, the revolver fits the holster like a glove and most definitely original to one another.

Item# 0750

SOLD