Pair of Remington 1858s

[ullrichmhu]

I have a pair of 1858s, I think, that I have been tasked with identifying and selling for my cousin.

I'm not an older revolver expert, so I'm trying to

- identify the exact variants of these 2. An acquaintance suggested one of them was made in 1862.
- figure out the best place to sell them (gunbroker, RIA, ?)
- guesstimate the rough value of each

I have a couple of photo albums of them on imgur. The first one in particular the serial number is hard to read - I can't tell if those are 3s or 8s.
I tried to get photos all of the markings, but I missed at least 1, which I added later.
Are there other photos I should take to help with identification?

First one https://imgur.com/a/XPB2k This one has LSA markings on the left grip. Is that someones initials? A quick google search didn't bring up anything obvious.

Second one https://imgur.com/a/dhMWf in somewhat nicer condition.

Thanks

[billt]

Hi,
Remington made three models of percussion revolvers for the Ordnance Department during the Civil War in both 36 (Navy Caliber) and 44 Army Caliber): the Beals, the Elliot or Old Model and the New Model. Your first revolver is a New Model and the second is an Elliot. Both have inspector stamps (small letters on the major parts). They should have a cartouche on the left grip indicating they were accepted by the Ordnance Department. Many times the cartouches wear off during the life of the revolver. To determine the caliber you can measure the inside of the cylinder holes or the barrel. A Navy will measure around 0.36 inches and an Army around 0.44 inches. If you take the grips off you will find the serial number stamped on the left side of the frame. From this we can determine the month and year of manufacture. The LSA on the New Model could mean almost anything, unit name, persons initials, company name, and so on and could have been added either during or after the war.
As far as value goes we do not give values because you really have to handle the revolver to give an accurate estimate. You can however look at revolvers in the gun auction sights (Gun Broker, Guns International) and see what similar condition revolvers are bringing.

I hope this helps,

Bill

[ullrichmhu]

Yes, that does help, thanks.
I'll take a look under the grips.

[ullrichmhu]

The serial is 80448, thanks for the clue to look under the grips. I knew that... but forgot about it.

Is it feasible to assess ballpark condition from just the photos, or does that require manual inspection as well?

Thanks again for your insight.

Up next time: .41 Rimfire Double Deringer.

[billt]

The New Model was made in June of 1864. What is the serial number of the Elliot? If the cylinder chambers are the same diameter on both revolvers they are 44 caliber Army revolvers. You really need to examine a revolver to get a good idea of the value.

Bill

[ullrichmhu]

Doh. I had that info, neglected to add it.

The S/N on the "#2" - as I called them is 19478, it's .36, 7-1/2 barrel. The cylinder pin can indeed slide out when the ram handle? is fully up. 1861 Navy? That's the one in better condition.

The #1 is .44 caliber, 8" barrel. New Model Army?

Thanks

[billt]

Your Elliot or Old Model Navy was made in December of 1862. The Elliot was supposed to be an improvement over the Beals. The improvement was being able to remove the cylinder without dropping the loading lever. Unfortunately the cylinder pin would work loose and the cylinder would jam. The New Model went back to the old method of dropping the loading lever to remove the cylinder. Many of the Elliot’s were reworked to add a fillister screw to the inside of the loading lever, which prevented the cylinder pin from coming loose. Yours apparently escaped the rework.

Bill