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Interesting Old Pistol - 19th Century Colt Clone?


Cypress Sam, SASS #10915

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Check out the pictures of an old pistol that I got from a friend.  It had been passed down to him and his brothers from a grandfather as a toy.  It took some “rejuvenating” to get it working again since it had been played with hard over many years.

 

It has Colt patent markings on the left side of the frame just like a Colt would.  No other marking on the frame but the serial number, 6622.  On the barrel it is marked:  “SISTEM Manufacturans ANIT & CHAR E.C.E.”   The caliber is 44-40 but it’s not marked as such anywhere.

 

The frame and grip-frame are all one piece like a ‘58 Remington and the trigger guard detaches in a fashion similar to the Remington.  All of the internal parts are very similar to a Colt, but not identical.  The gun is a little loose but locks up well.  I have fired it with light loads.  Not very accurate but it works!

 

The posted pictures show both sides, a top view (lettering not very visible), and a disassembled view.

 

If anyone can help with info about this gun, please let me know.

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47 minutes ago, Goody, SASS #26190 said:

That was interesting!!;)

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7 hours ago, Goody, SASS #26190 said:

 

Goody, the article you linked to says :

 

"These were designed for markets that had mostly just seen pictures of actual Colts and they made scaled-down variants chambered in 38 S&W, 38 Colt, 32 S&W and 22 LR. We have yet to see a “Mexican Colt” chambered in anything larger. "

 

So the OP's .44-40 wouldn't fit into that description.

"

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37 minutes ago, Marshal Hangtree said:

 

Goody, the article you linked to says :

 

"These were designed for markets that had mostly just seen pictures of actual Colts and they made scaled-down variants chambered in 38 S&W, 38 Colt, 32 S&W and 22 LR. We have yet to see a “Mexican Colt” chambered in anything larger. "

 

So the OP's .44-40 wouldn't fit into that description.

"

 

Simply because the author of that article has never seen anything larger is moot. The physical appearance of the revolvers are almost identical so I think we can extrapolate  the OP's firearm fits into this generic class of copies. At least that is what I conclude.

 

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1 hour ago, Goody, SASS #26190 said:

 

Simply because the author of that article has never seen anything larger is moot. The physical appearance of the revolvers are almost identical so I think we can extrapolate  the OP's firearm fits into this generic class of copies. At least that is what I conclude.

 

 

I totally agree, Goody.  The outward appearances of the pistols are remarkably similar.  That's what struck me by the author of the article's statement that they had yet to see one chambered larger.  Perhaps Cypress Sam's pistol is an example that the author should check out.  A very interesting pistol by any account.  BTW, thanks for the link to that article.  I learn something new about these old firearms every day.

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Thanks to Goody and Warden for good information.  The article Goody posted was quite interesting.  As far as caliber and frame size though,  you can tell by comparison with the 1902 Colt in the pictures below that the gun is full size, not a “pocket” model.  I’ve shown both guns with a factory 44-40 in the cylinder for comparing scale. 

 

Warden, do you remember if the gun in your pic had a front sight?  After reading Goody’s article and looking at the front sight on my gun, it is quite possible that it has been added, or maybe the barrel has been shortened (I don’t think the bbl has been shortened though.). There are tool marks around the front sight making me think it may be a late addition.

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Some more......Now I am not holding any of these up to be exactly like the OP's example. I am merely posting some more examples of the same sort of pistols made in Spain around the end of the 19th century. Many were supplied to Mexico during the many revolutions they had in that era.

 

https://ancestryguns.com/shop/mexican-retail-mark-spanish-colt-saa-revolver-copy-fascinating-engraved-example-of-spanish-copy/

 

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/64935519_spanish-colt-copy-44-40-saa-revolver

 

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/795953936

 

https://historical.ha.com/itm/western-expansion/cowboy/spanish-copy-of-colt-single-action-revolver-ca-1880-90-no-serial-number-5-1-2-barrel-in-44-centerfire-cartridge-colt-ho-total-1-item-/a/680-74329.s

 

 

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On 1/16/2019 at 10:34 AM, Cypress Sam, SASS #10915 said:

Check out the pictures of an old pistol that I got from a friend.  It had been passed down to him and his brothers from a grandfather as a toy.  It took some “rejuvenating” to get it working again since it had been played with hard over many years.

 

It has Colt patent markings on the left side of the frame just like a Colt would.  No other marking on the frame but the serial number, 6622.  On the barrel it is marked:  “SISTEM Manufacturans ANIT & CHAR E.C.E.”   The caliber is 44-40 but it’s not marked as such anywhere.

 

 

 
 
 

Colts That Weren’t: Some Were Legal, Most Were Forgeries

 

By Lee A. Silva
1/11/2018 • Wild West Magazine

 

Many copies saw use in the Mexican revolutions.

When I was buying antique guns in Mexico during the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s, I hauled dozens of old, well-worn copies and forgeries of Colt single-action revolvers back to the United States. But I had to sell them dirt cheap, because very few collectors cared enough about them to add them to their Colt collections. And they still don’t care much about them today.....................(one copy is marked ANIT & CHAR, for “Anitulla & Charolla,” a European gunmaker).......................

Also mde early semi autos

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Thanks all y’all for the good info.  The old gun is a lot more interesting than I originally thought.

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