Colt Derringers and Pocket Pistols
- Colt Single Action Army Serial Numbers By Year
- Colt Single Action Army 1st Generation Serial Numbers
- Colt Year By Serial Number
Year / Serial Number
1847 1
1848 2000
1849 8000
1850 12000 - 14000
Single Action Army & Bisley Revolvers (Pre-War) Single Action Army, Buntline & New Frontier SAA (Post-War) Colt Double Action Revolvers top. 1877 Lightning 1878 Frontier 1889 Navy 1892, 94, 95, 96, 1901, 03, New Army & Navy Models 1905 Marine Corps Army Special & Officer's Model Bankers Special Camp Perry Model Cobra, Aircrewman, Courier & Agent. In 1976 a “Third” generation of Colt Single Action Armys was introduced. On these, the “SA” marking is moved to the front of the serial number. These guns carried a varied number of names, from 1873 for the year it was introduced. The Peacemaker was another name used by the old west community.
In 1873, Colt’s single-action Army (SAA) revolver became the Army’s standard sidearm. Cavalry troopers were armed with the new revolvers. Lawmen and outlaws alike were quick to adopt the handy new 6-shooter which earned the nickname “Peacemaker.” The single-action Army was most widely produced with a color case-hardened frame and blued.
Paterson Pocket or Baby Colts No. 1
Year / Serial Number
1837-1838 1-500
Belt Model Paterson No. 2 & 3
Year / Serial Number
1838 - 1840 1-850
Holster or Texas Paterson No.5
Year /Serial Number
1838 - 1840 1-1000
Ehlers Pistols 4 th & 5 th Model
Year / Serial Number
1840-1843 1-500
Colt Baby Dragoon Pocket
Year / Serial Number
1847 1
1848 2000
1849 8000
1850 12000 - 14000
Cloverleaf House Model Revolver .41
Year / Serial Number
1871 1
1872 4000
1873 5000
1874 6000
1875 7200
1876 9600 - 9952
1st Model Deringer
Chambered in .41 caliber
Manufactured circa 1870-1890.
Serial number range 1-6500.
Yearly production numbers are not known.
2nd Model Deringer
Chambered in .41 caliber.
Manufactured circa 1870-1890.
Serial number range 1-9000.
Yearly production numbers are not known.
3rd Model (Thuer) Deringer
Chambered in .41 caliber.
Manufactured circa 1875-1912.
Serial number range 1-45000.
Yearly production numbers are not known.
4th Model Deringer
Chambered in .22 RF short.
Serial numbers have N or D suffix.
D serial number suffix manufactured 1959-1963.
N serial number suffix manufactured 1960-1963.
Total production (D suffix) about 89727.
Total production (N suffix) about 22880.
Lord & Lady Deringers
Chambered in .22 RF short.
Serial numbers began at 1001 and have a DER or LDR suffix.
Manufactured 1970-1973.
Serial numbers 49201 DER to 60201 DER were shipped in 1976.
Serial numbers with LDR suffix were shipped in 1970-1972.
Total production (DER suffix) about 48201.
Total production (LDR suffix) about 10450.
Colt 1849 Pocket
Year / Serial Number
1850 12000
1851 16000
1852 25000
1853 55000
1854 85000
1855 100000
1856 110000
1857 130000
1858 140000
1859 150000
1860 160000
1861 184000
1862 197000
1863 223000
1864 250000
1865 270000
1866 280000
1867 290000
1868 300000
1869 310000
1870 320000
1871 325000
1872 330000
1873 331000 - 340001
Colt 1849 Pocket London
Year / Serial Number
1853 1
1854 1000
1855 5000
1856 9000 - 11000
Model 1855 Sidehammer .28 Caliber
Year / Serial Number
1855 1
1856 5000
1857 15000
1858 18000
1859 20000
1860 22000
Model 1855 Sidehammer .31 Caliber
Year / Serial Number
1860 1
1861 1000
1862 4300
1863 6000
1864 8000
1865 9000
1866 10000
1867 11000
1868 12000
1869 13000
1870 14000
1861 26000
Model 1862 Police Pocket Pistol of Navy Caliber
Year / Serial Number
1861 1
1862 8500
1863 15000
1864 26000
1865 29000
1866 32000
1867 35000
1868 37000
1869 40000
1870 42000
1871 44000
1872 45000
1873 46000 - 47001
New House .38, .41 & .32
Year / Serial Number
1880 10300
1881 11000
1882 13500
1883 15000
1884 17000
1885 20000
1886 23000-25700
New Line .22 Pocket
Year / Serial Number
1873 1
1874 4500
1875 9000
1876 13000
1877 43000-55344
New Line .30 Pocket
Year / Serial Number
1874 1
1875 1500
1876 9200-10497
New Line .32 Pocket
Year / Serial Number
1873 1
1874 2100
1875 8800
1876 10000
1877 13000
1878 14000
1879 15000
1880 16000
1881 17000
1882 18000
1883 19000
1884 20000-22001
New Line .38 Pocket
Year / Serial Number
Colt Single Action Army Serial Numbers By Year
1874 1
1875 500
1876 5800
1877 6000
1878 7000
1879 9000
1880 11000-12517
New Line .41 Pocket
Year / Serial Number
1874 1
1875 1000
1876 3200
1877 7000
1878 9000
1879 10000-10703
New Police .38, .41 & .32
Colt Single Action Army 1st Generation Serial Numbers
Year / Serial Number
1882 14450
1883 15000
1884 17000
1885 20000
1886 23000-25700
Open Top Pocket Revolver .22
Year / Serial Number
1871 1
1872 3000
1873 6000
1874 7500
1875 48000
1876 85000
1877 95000-114201
Colt Conversions
Thuer
Circa 1868-1871. Calibers .31, .36 &.44 , in 1860 Army, 1851 Navy, 1861 Navy, 1862 Police, 1849 Pocket, 1862 Pocket Navy and (rare) Dragoons and 1855 Side-hammers.
Total production about 5,000.
Richards
Circa 1873-1878. M 1860 Army .44 center fire caliber, serials from 1-8700, in percussion series from 67000-200614.
Total production about 9,000.
Richards-Mason
M 1860 Army .44 center fire caliber, serials from 5800-7900, overlaps with the Richards conversion. Circa 1877-1878.
Total production about 2,100.
Model 1851 Navy
Circa 1872. Calibers .38 rim fire & center fire, serials from 1-3800 and from ranges with in 41000-91000.
Total production about 3,800.
Model 1861 Navy
Circa 1872-1878. Calibers .38 rim fire & center fire, serials from 1-3300, shared with 1851 Navy conversions, and range of percussion arms below number 10356. Mostly center fire.
Total production about 2,200.
Model 1862 Police & Pocket Navy
Circa 1873-1880. Calibers .38 rim fire & center fire, serials from 1-19000, and from high serials of the Model 1849 Pocket, and from generally high serials from the (percussion) Model 1862 Police and Pocket Navy. Variety of barrel lengths and cylinder styles.
Total production about 25,000.
Colt Single Action Revolvers
Colt 1851 Navy
Year / Serial Number
1850 1
1851 2500
1852 10000
1853 20000
1854 35000
1855 40000
1856 45000
1857 65000
1858 85000
1859 90000
1860 93000
1861 98000
1862 118000
1863 132000
1864 175000
1865 180000
1866 185000
1867 200000
1868 204000
1869 207000
1870 210000
1871 212000
1872 214000
1873 215000 - 215348
Colt 1851 Navy London
Year / Serial Number
1853 1
1854 4000
1855 15000
1856 41000 - 42000
1860 Army
Year / Serial Number
1860 1
1861 2000
1862 25000
1863 85000
1864 150000
1865 153000
1866 156000
1867 162000
1868 170000
1869 177000
1870 185000
1871 190000
1872 198000
1873 199000 - 200500
1861 Navy
Year / Serial Number
1861 1
1862 4600
1863 10000
1864 17000
1865 25000
1866 28000
1867 30000
1868 31000
1869 33000
1870 34000
1871 35000
1872 36000
1873 37000 - 338843
Fluck Pre-1st Model Dragoon
Colt Year By Serial Number
Year / Serial Number
1848 2216-2515
1st Model Dragoon
Year / Serial Number
1848 1341
1849 4000
2nd Model Dragoon
Year / Serial Number
1850 8000
1851 9500
3rd Model Dragoon
Year / Serial Number
1851 10700
1852 12000
1853 12500
1854 13750
1855 14000
1856 15500
1857 16250
1858 16500
1859 18000
1860 18500 -19800
Hartford English Model Dragoon
Year / Serial Number
1853 1-700
The First Colt Single Action Army
In 1872, Colt produced a run of three sample pistols for testing and examination by the US Army. The revolver seen above is Serial Number #1, the first production model Colt Single Action Army ever manufactured. The pistol was The US Army’s first service revolver to use a metallic cartridge, the .45 Colt centrefire. The pistol was based on the designs and improvements of William Mason and Charles Brinckerhoff Richards and following US Army trials it was adopted as the M1873 in two barrel lengths; the Army/Cavalry model with a 7½ inch barrel - as seen in Serial Number #1, and a shorter Artillery model with a 5½ barrel.
The success of the military models led to production of the civilian Peacemaker and later in 1877 the Frontier models which became some of the most popular pistols of the period and have gone on to become iconic revolvers.
Interestingly Serial Number #1 isn’t chambered in the proprietary .45 Colt cartridge with which it became famous, but Smith & Wesson’s .44 round, the only Single Action Army ever to chambered in its rival calibre. The Single Action Army became extremely popular allowing Colt to rival Smith & Wesson. The pistol became iconic and remained in almost continuous production for an astonishing 130 years before a brief gap in production during World War Two.
The other revolvers from the original run of sample pistols have long been lost, Serial Number #1 was also thought lost until it was discovered in a barn in Nashua, New Hampshire. The monetary value of the pistol is difficult to estimate as it is even rarer than the highly sort after original service pistols which can command up to $10,000. The pistol is currently part of the Autry National Center of the American West’s collection in Los Angeles.
Source - Autry National Cente, TheAutry.org
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