Help! Reminton 1858 New Model Army .44 Caliber

[Hugosaid]

Hello,

I want to start by stating I am NOT a firearm buff. I have been entrusted with liquidating my Fathers remaining collection and I am seeking information regarding a Remington 1858 New Model Army .44 caliber. My Fathers notes state the revolver is NOT a reproduction that it is an "original percussion pistol. 70% condition." I am trying to understand what markings indicate it is an original and how to determine the manufacture date. I have NOT taken the revolver apart and do not want to do so, and think that due to the inspector markings that it can be identified as an original without doing so. Thus my post here. Would anyone be willing to take a look and give an opinion? Thank you in advance for you time and opinions. Here are a few of pictures. Please let me know if I am not providing the correct pictures to make an educated opinion.

Hugosaid

[billt]

Hello Hugosaid, You have a genuine Remington New Model Army revolver made somewhere between 1861 and 1865. The small letters on the revolver are inspection marks. Once the revolver passed inspection the Principal sub-inspector stamped his cartouche on the left grip panel indicating the revolver was accepted by the Ordnance Department. The cartouche on your revolver looks like "BH" which would be the cartouche of Benjamin Hannis who inspected revolvers at the Remington Armory in Ilion, NY the last two years of the Civil War. If you post back the serial number we can look up the date of manufacture. The serial number is listed in three places; on the grip frame under the left grip panel, under the barrel and on the trigger guard tab.

I hope this helps,

Bill

[Hugosaid]

Bill,

THANK YOU so much for the information!!! The only serial I can see is on the barrel. It is 63323. I have included a picture. This information helps me greatly. I am trying to get my information correct before I post it for sale. Being someone that doesn't know anything about these firearms, it can be be a massive challenge!! I also have the "replica" of this firearm made by Remington and a Remington Smoot #2 that I will be researching after this one. I have several others but they will not be mentioned...as the are NOT Remington..

I want to list this as all matching serial numbers but do not want to take it to a gunsmith to make that determination and do not want to attempt to take it apart on my own. I would HATE to damage it. Does it have to come apart to make that determination on this one?

Hugosaid

[billt]

Your revolver was made in March of 1864. You should be able to take the grip panels off fairly easy. Just remove the grip screw from the left side of the grips and the panels should come off. From your second picture it looks like there is a space between the toe of left grip and the frame where you could insert a knife blade and gently pry the grip panel away from the frame if it is stuck. The serial number is stamped on the left side of the frame at the bottom. The trigger guard is removed by removing the screw in the front of the guard and pulling the front of the guard slightly up. Slide the guard forward to remove it from the revolver. The serial number is stamped on the top side of the tab on the back of the guard. Don't be too concerned if the barrel and frame serial number do not match because they probably came from the factory like that. Remington had a policy to not throw anything away so if a revolver failed inspection for the frame they would remove the barrel and put on another revolver sometime later.

You can send me a private message if you need any more help.

Bill

[Hugosaid]

Bill,

Thank you! That is great information. I doubt I will get brave enough to take it apart. I think I can feel okay with listing it as an original now with the information that you have provided. I have tried to send you a PM but am not bright enough to figure out this site yet...it is stuck in the outbox...?

Now I just need to decide on pricing. I see pricing ALL over the board on this item. Do you have any opinions on that? You can send me a PM..maybe I can respond better than I can send.

Hugosaid

[dieNusse1]

It will take 30 seconds to check S/N under left grip. Checking the trigger guard is an option. A small slot screwdriver is all that's needed.

Anyone interested in purchase will most likely require viewing the S/Ns.

email me at jmeier356@gmail.com to discuss purchase.

[Hugosaid]

Gentlemen,

I took the grip off this morning and they match! What a beautiful sight!

Hugosaid

[Hugosaid]

DieNusse1 - I sent you an email. It will come from KShattie2@gmail.com