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1849 Colt Pocket Pistol, Purser's Safe and Bullet Mould [158847]

Currency:USD Category:Antiques / Firearms & Armory Start Price:250.00 USD Estimated At:500.00 USD and UP
1849 Colt Pocket Pistol, Purser's Safe and Bullet Mould [158847]
SOLD
25,000.00USDto G*******s+ buyer's premium (5,000.00)
This item SOLD at 2022 Dec 03 @ 13:15UTC-8 : PST/AKDT
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This is one of the all-time classic California Gold Rush guns, a true "'49er", and perhaps now unarguably the most famous of them extant coming from the greatest American treasure ship, "the Ship of Gold." It is a 1849 Colt Pocket Pistol, from the Purser's Safe, recovered in 2014. Measures 9.25" x 4", .31 caliber, 3.5" barrel with loading lever. The loading lever is the same length as the barrel length. They came in either a 5-shot or 6-shot variation. The pistol is significantly degraded, but whole. It is in better condition than the other gun in the consignment because it was in an anaerobic environment (no oxygen in the safe). Grips still present, trigger guard present. Hammer dissolved and gone. This was used as a self-defense gun, sitting right inside the safe's door on an upper shelf in case the purser was forced to open the door by a robber. Edward Hull kept bags of gold and money in this safe, including the ship's money and a bag of dimes. This is the firearm of choice for hopeful miners coming west for the Gold Rush. Colt made 300,000 copies of this gun. This gun cost perhaps $12 in New York, but about $120 in California, so you brought your own. Everybody armed themselves coming West. This is a highly fragile piece but an important relic of the Ship of Gold. The firearm comes with a bullet mould (mold) for the bullets for this gun. Double cavity 31 caliber brass bullet mould in two pieces because the iron hardware attaching the pair by hinge are dissolved and gone. The mould made two different bullets, one conical and one round. Also present in this lot are two .31 caliber round balls recovered from the dredge tails.

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Provenance: SS Central America Collection