An engraved caliber .36 Colt Fourth Model 1851 Navy revolver with inscription, “To John C. Hays / with Compliments of Col. Colt” on the backstrap. This has matching number 98229 over the dot that was used to denote factory engraving. The revolver is engraved in leafy scrollwork with a punch dot background, a hand-engraved “COLT’S PATENT” on the frame, an unusual portrait of a bearded man on the left side of the barrel lug and a wolf’s head on each side of its hammer. The revolver is in very good condition with an attractive dark gray patina on all the steel surfaces and about 60% of silver plating remaining on the brass gripstraps. The cylinder retains all of the original safety pins and about 75% of its roll engraved naval ship scene. The 7.5” octagonal barrel has a very good bore and the revolver is mechanically good. The one-piece ivory grip shows light wear with very attractive age toning.
This revolver was in the famed Gaines de Graffenried collection and was sold by Christie’s in June of 2001. John Coffee Hays (1817-1884) was a famous Texas Ranger and Indian fighter whose most historic moment involved his use of the then new Colt Paterson revolver in an engagement with hostile Comanches in 1841 at Enchanted Rock, Texas. In 1850, during the California gold rush, he was the sheriff of San Francisco, and in 1853 President Franklin Pierce appointed him Surveyor General of California.
Although no factory letter is now present, the Christie’s sale catalog indicates that this was shipped from the Colt factory in 1861 to Peale & Co. of Vicksburg, Virginia, not listed as engraved, 50 revolvers in the shipment. The revolver is accompanied by an original dark brown leather California pattern ‘Slim Jim’ holster in very good condition.
With only rifles and single-shot pistols, Texas Ranger John Coffee Hays struggled to maintain control of the hostile Indian population. When he ordered a handful Samuel Colt’s new repeating revolvers in 1840, it caused a sudden and decisive turn of events; with the new guns, he fought the first successful mounted action against the Comanches at Enchanted Rock, a victory that was quickly celebrated along the frontier. His discovery of the new weapon came just in time for Colt; previously unable to find a market for his product, he was ready to leave gun manufacturing behind. But with the rave reviews of the Texas Rangers, business began to turn around. When Samuel Walker, a Ranger under the command of Hays, took charge of his own company in the Mexican-American War, he ordered 1,000 modified revolvers, a purchase that enabled Colt to establish his Patent Firearms Company.
By 1851, Hays had moved on to become Sheriff of San Francisco, and Colt’s business was thriving with his highest-selling gun, the Navy Revolver, in production. Undoubtedly aware of the role Hays played in his success, Colt offered this gun as a token of gratitude. This is a truly remarkable gift from one legend to another, neither of whom would have met such success without the contribution of the other.
This is an antique revolver and transfers with no federal restriction.
Provenance:
Col. Jack Hays
Decendants of Col. Jack Hays
Kjel Storedollen
Christie’s
Robert E. Davis
