45 colt single action revolver

[twotoescharlie]

in the early 60s I bought the above pistol from a friend.
typical old colt single action, best I can remember it had a 5-51/2 barrel, no finish,one piece walnut grip, usual colt patent dates, all matching ser. nos. serial number series was 1st or 2nd year production. odd thing, no colt name anywhere on the pistol. on left side of the barrel-- W.C. CO. , looks to be factory stamped. was wondering what the w. c. co. stood for. sold the pistol in the early90s but know where it is at and probably could get it back for less than what I sold it for.
figured maybe someone here could shed a little light on this old pistol.

TTC

[Silver Jack Hammer]

Winchester Cartridge Company. That's how the .44-40, .38-40 and .32-20's were denoted because Winchester owned the rights to the cartridge, kind of similar to how the .40 Smith and Wesson is denoted today.

Colt's Manufacturing Co. should have been stamped on the top of the barrel.

If there was no Rampant Colt symbol on the side of the frame next to the patent lines then the frame would be dated prior to 1896. Many of those guns were re-barreled and after market non Colt barrels such as made by Christy were installed and they worked fine.

If the gun were a genuine pre 1896 with the patent lines visible it might be worth something as a collector but the frame would not be rated for smokeless powder shooting. Guns were refinished but the Rampant Colt was not usually buffed out, it was stamped deep enough in the frame to be visible after pre bluing buffing.

There are a lot of counterfeit guns out there, I would be very careful. My first thought is that you did not have a genuine Colt. Have someone who knows check it over. Look at the frame in front of the trigger guard where the serial number is, many guns have been ground down here and re-stamped with an un-authorized serial number. Hold the gun up in front of you like you are reading the patent lines and see if the bottom of the frame runs a straight line from where it mates the trigger guard to the end of the frame were the serial number is.