Colt Single Action Army Colonel Sam Colt Sesquicentennial

The brass plate on the lid tells you what you are holding before you ever open the case. One of 200. That is the entire run of this engraved Sesquicentennial deluxe presentation, and finding one complete with its case and accessories is the kind of thing that keeps Colt collectors checking listings every morning.

The revolver is a Single Action Army in .45 Colt, built in 1964 to mark 150 years since Samuel Colt's birth. The 7.5 inch barrel carries deep, high-polish bluing under flowing scroll engraving cut across the frame, barrel, and grip straps. Read the barrel and you find the commemorative legend, 1814 COL. SAML COLT SESQUICENTENNIAL MODEL 1964, with the Hartford address rolled just ahead of the frame. The bright nickel cylinder is the centerpiece. It wears roll-engraved scenes and dates against the surrounding blue, and that contrast is what gives the gun its display presence.

The grips are figured walnut with gold Colt medallions, and the warm grain plays against the polished steel. Look close at the backstrap and you find the same scroll carried right through to the butt. The hammer cocks with the four click rhythm every SAA owner knows by heart.

What makes this one matter is the box. The walnut case is fitted in deep wine velvet and carries the engraved brass plate naming it as one of the 200 deluxe models. Inside sits the silver Colonel Samuel Colt medal on its ribbon, struck for the same anniversary, a wood block holding a dozen rounds of Winchester .45 Colt, and a copy of R.L. Wilson's The Arms Collection of Colonel Colt.

For a collector chasing Colt commemoratives, the standard Sesquicentennial turns up often enough. The engraved deluxe, cased and complete, does not. That is the gun on offer here.