This is an Allen & Wheelock lip fire Army revolver made during the Civil War period. An estimated 250 of these .44 caliber six shot revolver were produced. These revolvers were unique in regards to the ammunition more than anything. Allen saw a way to separate himself from the rimfire manufactured revolvers through the design of the cartridges used with the weapon. A rimfire cartridge required expensive priming compound around the entire rim of the cartridge, where as the lip required it in one specific location. This was achievable due to the design of the cartridge and cylinder of the Allen & Wheelock revolvers. The cylinder was machined with a slot on the outside edge that allowed the small "lip" of the cartridge to be indexed only one way. This ensured the hameer would strike the cartridge and ignite the powder everytime. Unfortunately a patent dispute with Smith & Wesson brought a halt to the production of these guns. This 7 1/2" octagon to round barrel retains much of the original bluing. The bore is in excellent condition, with no pitting or rust and very strong rifling. The left side of the barrel is crisply stamped ALLEN & WHEELOCK, WORCESTER, MS.US./ALLEN'S PAT'S. SEP. 7, NOV. 9, 1858. The remainder of the gun shows plenty of bluing and case hardening. The walnut grips are in very good condition and still retain the majority of the original varnish. The mechanics of the revolver work perfectly. The serial number of 88 is found stamped on the loading gate, rear face of the cylinder, the top of the cylinder pin, the left side of the frame under the grip and on the inside of each grip. The cam action trigger guard operates the ejector rod perfectly. If you could find the ammo, I'm sure this revolver would fire without and problems. This is a very fine example of a very rare revolver produced by Allen & Wheelock during the Civil War period.

Item # AA3002

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