Colt .45LC Philippines Model of 1902

[varifleman]

Here for your perusal is Colt .45LC Philippines Model of 1902 serial number 45642. Frame; rear face of cylinder and left front trigger guard bow show inspector mark RAC (a civilian employee of the War Department and was the sub-inspector on the revolvers). The right side of the frame has a "U.S." property mark stamped above the trigger guard bow and the Ordnance inspector's initials "JTT" (LTC John T. Thompson, Chief of the Small Arms Division for the Ordnance Department) stamped just above the top of the right grip and the date "1902" in front of it.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Very nice, and quite uncommon. Is it nickeled or blued? Some of the photos look nickel, some blue (on my screen, anyway.).
What is it's current value?

DG

[varifleman]

Hi DG; it's blued, looks nickled in a few of the seller's photos. I'd have to check re current value but I was fortunate to get this pistol for $905.00.

[varifleman]

The US Government bought 4600 of the Philippine Model of 1902 revolvers to arm the Philippine Constabulary Corps. This was the gun they specifically purchased to deal with the Moro problem in the Philippines. These revolvers became incorrectly known in common parlance on the civilian market as the Alaskan Model based on the idea that this trigger guard was designed for shooting in cold conditions while wearing gloves. That is incorrect as these guns came from the Philippines.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Thanks for that information. I was never clear personally about the difference of Philippine vs. Alaskan. That is a beautiful polish and blue job, the quality of which Colt was once famous for. It's hard to believe that your specimen could have survived all these years in such great condition. You truly have a collector treasure there. The average gun guy, I think, remains fairly ignorant of this model because all of the history books relate how the Single Action Army was brought out of mothballs and sent to the Philippines to deal with the Moros. I'm really glad you shared this with us.

DG

[Kyle M.]

I’ve never even seen one of these in a photo or book and I’m a big Colt revolver fan. I too was always told and always read that the government ordered Colt New Service revolvers in .45 Colt and dug out moth balled SAA’s to deal with the Moro tribesman. Is this an evolution of the 1878 lightning/thunderer DA? Or a totally different design.

[Piedmont]

Wow. I didn't know that gun existed and I'm more than passingly familiar with revolvers.

[Bigslug]

NICE!

Always love it when "survivors" from that era, that somehow managed to evade WWI, show up. I've seen a couple of relatively unblemished 1911's from the first 1-2 years of production, and each time it was a case of "I saw the finish work, and I wept".

One of my favorite "fun facts" from the era was that the Army requested that Colt "dial back" the finish efforts three or maybe four different times before the end of WWI. Each time it was a case of "We need more 1911's, and this is STILL too awesome". Kinda hard to imagine a company today at which awesome was all they knew how to do.

[rintinglen]

In 50 + years of going to gun shows, I have seen--I think--3 of these. All were well used. Yours is fantastic. Congratulations on your acquisition..

[varifleman]

I’ve never even seen one of these in a photo or book and I’m a big Colt revolver fan. I too was always told and always read that the government ordered Colt New Service revolvers in .45 Colt and dug out moth balled SAA’s to deal with the Moro tribesman. Is this an evolution of the 1878 lightning/thunderer DA? Or a totally different design.
The US Army had tested the Model 1878 in 1879, and rejected it – largely because of problems with light primer strikes. Many years later, experience in the Philippines would lead the government to seek .45 caliber revolvers for issue to the Philippine Constabulary. Colt seized this opportunity by fitting a stronger hammer spring to the 1878 revolver, and lengthening the trigger to give the shooter more leverage on the correspondingly heavier trigger. The trigger guard was also enlarged, as necessary to fit the lengthened trigger. This gave the gun a distinct look, which would become popularly known as the Alaskan Model, inferring use with gloves in cold weather. In reality, however, this design was to increase reliability with the aim of making a government sale. So basically an improved and updated Model 1878.

[Good Cheer]

Thanks for posting about this revolver.
Too bad Colt didn't make more double action .45's!

[Jesse Heywood]

Talk about a gun having all the bells and whistles.. Great score. How about posting this on the Colt forum?

[Jtarm]

That’s a beautiful finish, but one ungainly-looking revolver.

[varifleman]

Talk about a gun having all the bells and whistles.. Great score. How about posting this on the Colt forum?
Done several days ago: https://www.coltforum.com/threads/colt-45lc-philippines-model-of-1902.385175/#post-3290228

[varifleman]

Here's the Colt Archives shipment information:

[9.3X62AL]

Superb example.