Colt SAA manufacture date?

[Daniel T]

I'm trying to find out the manufacture date of a certain SAA. The serial number is 15XXX. It has "Colt Single Action Army .45" stamped on the barrel, and the patent date stamped on the lower left side of the frame, below the cylinder. It's blued with a case-colored finish on the frame and what looks to be a 7" barrel. The grips are a dark brown wood, with no Colt medallion set into them.

I'm thinking it's probably fairly modern, maybe made in the late 60s, early 70s. It doesn't have any of the patina that older firearms usually have, but I could be wrong.

If anyone has an idea when it was made, or can point me to an online resource, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks!

 

[Daniel T]

Nope, there are no letters in the serial number. The serial is on three spots that I saw on the gun: the bottom of the frame, just foward of the trigger guard; on the trigger guard itself, just behind the frame's serial, and on the bottom of the grip. I didn't check the cylinder for a serial.

If this gun was actually manufactured in 1875, I would be totally astounded. The only wear is a tiny amount of holster wear on the ejector housing. Other than that, it looks like it was fresh off the line.

 

[Jim Watson]

An 1875 Colt SAA in that condition is extremely valuable, Blue Book $20,000+. They are also commonly faked, you need a real Colt expert, in person, which you ought to be able to find in Austin.

In the meantime, does it have the "black powder" cylinder base pin retaining screw instead of the later spring loaded crossways plunger?
Is the (top of) barrel address
+COLT'S PT. F.A. MFG. Co. HARTFORD, CT. U.S.A.+
in Italic (slanted) letters instead of the later block letters and with the + before and after?
Are the patent dates in two lines for 1871 and 1872 with no 1875 and no horsie?

If all that matches up, and everything else that a real expert knows to check, that is a real nice piece.

But it might not be. There are some pretty close replicas and some of them get turned into outright fakes.

Y'all be careful, now, you hear?

 

[Daniel T]

Thanks Jim, I'll check those things, but I'm pretty sure I can say right now that there is only one patent date on the frame. Hmm.