Gun of the Day: Engraved Colt Model 1851 Revolver

While most of the standard production run of the “Navy” Colt model came out of the Hartford factory with a 7.5 inch barrel, this c.1853-made engraved example with ivory grip panels is quite a bit shorter, coming in at just 4 inches. Custom presentation examples like this truncated Colt are extremely rare, but the small sideways “2” following the cylinder number may indicate that this revolver was one of a pair.