1858 Remington New Model Army
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LongueCarbine
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Fri Feb 21, 2025 7:40 pm
1858 Remington New Model Army
I purchased a 1858 Model Remington New Model Army recently that had two different serial numbers, one on the frame T90581 and another on the barrel 90762, both 181 serial numbers apart. It has the BH cartouche and is in beautiful shape. I have heard that some guns were brought back for reworking. Is there some story to verify this? And what would be the significance of the “T” in the frame serial number?
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Re: 1858 Remington New Model Army
Hello LongueCarbine,
There are two main reasons for mixed serial numbers on Remington revolvers. One is a factory error when applying the serial numbers because the digits were stamped one at a time and sometimes a digit was transposed or not stamped at all. The second reason is Remington’s policy of not throwing anything away. If a revolver failed inspection it was set aside and later disassembled, the defective part was discarded and the other parts were put back in production bins. In your revolvers case the original barrel probably failed inspection and the barrel from a later manufactured revolver which had also failed inspection was installed on it. I have a list of 64 New Model Armies which have mixed serial numbers for various reasons so it is fairly rare but not unheard of.
The “T is not a part of the serial number. It is more likely a mark connected with some modification which was performed on the revolver during production.
The only New Model Army revolvers I know were sent back to the factory were the 4,574 by Benjamin Kittredge of Cincinnati, Ohio to be converted into Type 1 .46 caliber metallic cartridge revolvers after the Civil War. These had conversion numbers stamped on several parts of the revolver and the Rollin White patent stamp on the cylinder.
FYI, Your revolver was accepted by the Ordnance Department in August of 1864. The “BH” cartouche is that of Benjamin Hannis who inspected New Model Armies at the Remington Armory at Ilion, NY the last two years of the Civil War.
Bill
There are two main reasons for mixed serial numbers on Remington revolvers. One is a factory error when applying the serial numbers because the digits were stamped one at a time and sometimes a digit was transposed or not stamped at all. The second reason is Remington’s policy of not throwing anything away. If a revolver failed inspection it was set aside and later disassembled, the defective part was discarded and the other parts were put back in production bins. In your revolvers case the original barrel probably failed inspection and the barrel from a later manufactured revolver which had also failed inspection was installed on it. I have a list of 64 New Model Armies which have mixed serial numbers for various reasons so it is fairly rare but not unheard of.
The “T is not a part of the serial number. It is more likely a mark connected with some modification which was performed on the revolver during production.
The only New Model Army revolvers I know were sent back to the factory were the 4,574 by Benjamin Kittredge of Cincinnati, Ohio to be converted into Type 1 .46 caliber metallic cartridge revolvers after the Civil War. These had conversion numbers stamped on several parts of the revolver and the Rollin White patent stamp on the cylinder.
FYI, Your revolver was accepted by the Ordnance Department in August of 1864. The “BH” cartouche is that of Benjamin Hannis who inspected New Model Armies at the Remington Armory at Ilion, NY the last two years of the Civil War.
Bill
Re: 1858 Remington New Model Army
I am looking at a pistol that has matching serial numbers and several letter stamps that seem to have matches on barrel and cylinder, frame and trigger guard. The serial number is also very faintly written on the inside of the pistol grips along with matching letter stamps on the bottom. It has the BH stamped in one grip. Serial number is 92196. Main spring fits well and tight in grip. Seems to have little wear other than some notches in one grip. 3 line stamped on top of barrel and blade front site. Can you tell me anything about the date of manufacture and whether this seems to be original or fake as well as possible value?
Re: 1858 Remington New Model Army
Hello Grainger2,
Your revolver was accepted by the Ordnance Department in August of 1864. The letter stamps are inspection marks and are different because there were multiple inspectors inspecting parts. The BH cartouche is that of Benjamin Hannis who inspected New Model Armies at the Remington Armory in Ilion, NY the last two years of the war. The serial number on the grips indicate there was hand fitting of the grips to be able to match them with the correct revolver after the finish was applied. The revolver sounds original with the exception of the front sight. The New Model Armies and Navies had a pinched front sight so if yours has a blade it was changed post manufacture. We do not give values on this web site. I suggest looking for a comparable revolver on Gun Broker or Guns international and see what they are selling for.
Good luck,
Bill
Your revolver was accepted by the Ordnance Department in August of 1864. The letter stamps are inspection marks and are different because there were multiple inspectors inspecting parts. The BH cartouche is that of Benjamin Hannis who inspected New Model Armies at the Remington Armory in Ilion, NY the last two years of the war. The serial number on the grips indicate there was hand fitting of the grips to be able to match them with the correct revolver after the finish was applied. The revolver sounds original with the exception of the front sight. The New Model Armies and Navies had a pinched front sight so if yours has a blade it was changed post manufacture. We do not give values on this web site. I suggest looking for a comparable revolver on Gun Broker or Guns international and see what they are selling for.
Good luck,
Bill
Re: 1858 Remington New Model Army
Thank you. My mistake on stating a blade front sight. It is a pinched sight as you state is original. I guess value is in the eye of the holder. Thank you for your time and help.