Manhattan Navy Revolver - Series III - sn 18xxx

Navy Revolver, Series III, manufactured by Manhattan Firearms Manufacturing Company, with 4" barrel. American Civil War era black powder percussion revolver, in good condition with 60% original finish. 3/5 Bore. All four visible serial numbers are matching. 5-shot cylinder. Original blued finish is very light. Factory engraving embellishment on the cylinder is faint, with the "cylinder scenes" worn off with time. The silver plating on the brass grip frame has mostly worn off, with a few areas of silver remaining. Top of the barrel is stamped with "MANHATTAN FIRE ARMS CO. NEWARK N.J." Bore has light rust and pitting. Wood grips are understandably worn, with handling marks and a spiderweb pattern in the varnish.

Manhattan Firearms manufactured approximately 30,000 of the Navy Revolver Series III model from September 1861 to April 1864. This example is an earlier production of the Series III, which features a spring plate on the face of the recoil shield. This is scarce with the Series III as the spring place was discontinued after the first thousand manufactured. The spring plate was reintroduced later with the Series IV.