Extremely Well-Documented, Historic and Iconic Only Known Original Cased Colt Civilian Walker Percussion Revolver, Known as "The Danish Sea Captain Walker" Offered here is without question the rarest, most historic and finest Colt Walker revolver Rock Island Auction Company has had the privilege to offer at auction. Known by the collecting fraternity as the Danish sea captain Walker, it is a type of revolver that gun collectors usually can only fantasize about owning. The story of the Walker revolver forever changed the course of American history and firearms design. It involves a young gallant U.S. Army officer, Samuel Hamilton Walker, a brilliant second generation inventor and manufacturer, Eli Whitney, Jr., and thrusted a young, unsuccessful (up until this point) but ambitious entrepreneur to the forefront of American manufacturing, one of the first American business tycoons, Col. Samuel Colt. The Colt U.S. 1847 Walker Model design was developed by Samuel Colt and influenced by suggestions from the former Texas Ranger Samuel Hamilton Walker who was serving as a captain in the Regiment of Mounted Riflemen. On December 7, 1846, Colt met with President James K. Polk to promote his revolver. President Polk directed Secretary of War William L. Marcy to order 1,000 revolvers from Colt through the Ordnance Department. This order marked the beginning of the relationship between Colt and the U.S. military which exists to this day. Colt made arrangements for the revolvers to be manufactured by Eli Whitney at the Whitneyville Armory. The original intent was to issue two revolvers per man to the Mounted Rifle Regiment. After filling the 1,000 unit order for the military, a civilian series of Walkers in the serial number range 1001-1100 was put into production for two purposes. The first and most notable was presentation arms which would become a famous tactic used by Colt throughout his illustrious career. Presentations were made to ranking military personages who could secure important military contracts. Second was to offer revolvers to the commercial or civilian market in order to get this new, innovative and potent revolver in consumer hands and a conversation started. This revolver, serial number 1022, was one of the only 100 civilian Walkers manufactured. The revolver has the distinctive half octagon nine inch barrel with German silver front sight blade and hinged round tip loading lever secured by a T-shaped spring. The top barrel flat is stamped “ADDRESS, SAML. COLT, NEW-YORK CITY.” The barrel lug on the right side is stamped “U.S./1847.” The Texas Rangers and Indian battle scene is roll engraved on the cylinder which has oval stop slots. The brass square back trigger guard has a distinctive broad base. The back strap is iron. The serial number is stamped on the bottom of the barrel lug, bottom of the frame, the rear of the cylinder, the trigger guard, and the back strap. The arbor pin has the number “18,” and the wedge is unnumbered. The revolver properly lacks U.S. military inspection marks. The oak case is lined in green baize and contains rare accessories: a “COLT’S/PATENT” marked bullet mold, “COLTS PATENT” marked powder and ball flask (more about this accessory later), and question-marked shaped tool. This is the only known Colt Walker with the original case in existence. The case has brass hardware with steel screws and two compartments with lids featuring turned pulls. The lock plate is stamped “BUNDGER” and “BARMEN.” Unable to obtain this revolver for himself, famed firearms collector William Locke reverted to replicating the case for one of his own Walkers, serial number 1004, which is pictured in Frank Seller’s “The William M. Locke Collection” on page 44. Accompanying the revolver is a remarkable record of its history handwritten in ink by Samuel Colt himself. The 3 inch x 3 inch card reads in Colt’s own handwriting, “This Pistol is a correct sample of the Pistols furnished to the U.S. government [and] the Texas Ran

  • Condition: See Description

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We will arrange for packing and shipping at our earliest possible convenience. We will attempt to ship as soon as possible, however, due to the huge volume of absentee bidders, delays in shipping of seven days after full payment is received by us is typical. In the case of crating or any exceptional packaging, the buyer will be charged our cost from outside agents. Buyer pays all shipping and insurance charges.

by Rock Island Auction Company
April 13, 2018 9:00 AM CDT
7819 42nd Street West
Rock Island, IL, US 61201

Rock Island Auction Company

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $199 $10
$200 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 + $10,000