Lot 55

Smith & Wesson No. 3 American Revolver with Carved Eagle Grips

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Smith & Wesson No. 3 American Revolver with Carved Eagle Grips

Estimate: $5,000 - $9,000

Starting Bid: $4,500

(0 Bids)

by Rock Island Auction Company
June 27, 2026 5:00 PM CDT
Live Auction
3600 Harwood Road
Bedford, TX, US 76021

Exceptional and Desirable Smith & Wesson No. 3 American Second Model Single Action Revolver with Highly Attractive Relief Carved Mexican Eagle Ivory Grips and Factory Letter The Smith & Wesson American revolver remains an enduring and tangible symbol of the struggle, turmoil, and triumph of America’s westward expansion and helped to lay the foundation for one of America’s iconic firearms manufacturers which continues to this day. These Smith & Wesson Americans remain highly desirable among collectors due to their deeply rooted association with the American West, and this particular example is certainly easy to picture in the holster of a frontier desperado, lawman, or cowboy. This model is one of the more rarely encountered but iconic revolvers of the American frontier and competed directly with the Colt Single Action Army. For the Smith & Wesson Americans, the biggest advantage was quicker unloading and reloading due to their top-break design, and they also had a head start, with the First Model entering production in 1870. Many western gunslingers quickly took to Smith & Wesson's fast loading design which was significantly faster to reload than the cap and ball revolvers many still carried. Plenty of legendary frontier figures are noted as preferring the Smith & Wesson over a Colt, including "Buffalo Bill" Cody, the famous Texas outlaw John Wesley Hardin, and Wyatt Earp. The latter allegedly carried one during the shootout at the O.K. Corral. Since the First Model Americans were only manufactured in 1870-1872 and the Second Model was only manufactured in 1872-1874 before the company shifted focus to the Russian Models and then New Model No. 3, they were produced in much smaller numbers than the Colt Single Action Army. With many seeing significant use in the harsh environment of the western frontier, surviving examples of these Americans are much harder to come by, particularly in high condition like this one. This is an exceptional example of Smith & Wesson’s No. 3 American Second Model revolver manufactured c. 1872. The included factory letter lists the revolver as shipped on 11 October 1872 to M.W. Robinson Co. in New York, one of Smith & Wesson’s largest distributors at the time. It notes that this revolver shipped with an 8 inch barrel and walnut grips and that it was part of a mixed blue and nickel shipment of 60 revolvers. It is further noted in the letter that the current grips were likely fitted by the Robinson firm to fulfill a special order. The top of the barrel rib is marked with the standard single line address and patent dates flanked by Maltese crosses. The serial number is stamped on the butt and is hand-marked in ink inside both grip panels. The matching assembly number "211" is marked on the right of the grip frame, rear face of the cylinder, rear face of the top strap, and bottom of the barrel latch. It is fitted with a pinned blade front sight, notch rear sight on top of the barrel latch, and a highly attractive pair of antique ivory grips, with the right panel being beautifully relief carved with a Mexican eagle with a serpent clutched in its beak. This specific example certainly has the honest look of having spent some years on the frontier in a holster as a trusted sidearm while being well cared for. Given the Mexican eagle motif on the grips of this revolver, it is highly likely it found itself in the turbulent Southwest, perhaps even south of the border, in a time when much of that region remained decidedly “untamed”.

Manufacturer: Smith & Wesson

Model: No. 3

BBL: 8 inch solid rib

Gauge: 44 S&W American

Finish: nickel

Grips: ivory

Serial Number14099

Class: Antique

  • Provenance: The Dr. Gerald Klaz Collection; The Glenn Wallace Collection
  • Condition: Excellent, retains 95% plus of the untouched original nickel plating and strong traces of the original case colors on the hammer, with some light holster wear, some mild pitting along a few edges, and some cylinder turn marks. The attractively aged grips are slightly shrunken with the typical age-lines, most noticeable on the butts, and some light handling evidence on the well-defined relief carving, typical of a frontier-carried sidearm. Mechanically functions. This is an exceptionally attractive example of the iconic Smith & Wesson No. 3 American, one of the western frontier’s legendary sidearms!

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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 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $25,000