Q. Recently, at auction, I bought a “Savage Navy Revolver,” something I have wanted for a long time. It’s in good order and is a solid brute of a thing, but apart from the “Savage R.F.A. Co. Middleton, CT” stamp on the barrel, there are no other markings at all except for the serial number “1620” in three places: the frame; under the barrel; and on the sideplate. I’ve looked up what information I can find on the Internet and Mr. John F. Graf’s Standard Catalog Of Civil War Firearms, which gives the basic background, but I was hoping you might be able to narrow it down to perhaps a year of manufacture and maybe if it was ever issued.
A. Savage Fire-Arms Co. manufactured the Navy Revolver from 1861 to 1865; some 20,000 were made. Most were sold commercially, with only 800 contracted to the U.S. Navy during the Civil War. Issued guns were stamped “P” (proved) over “J.R.G.” for the inspector, Capt. Joseph R. Goldsborough, on the middle portion of the cylinders.
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