Blue, Nickel, and Gold – Oh My!

This entry comes from the 1899 Special Order Ledger. It shows a pair of New Army pistols, specified with a rather peculiar mix of finishes, including the combination of not just two different finishes, but three. The two pistols on this order were 6 inch barreled .38c New Army revolvers, specified to have pearl grips.

Now comes the interesting combo: the frame/barrel seem to have been blued. The crane, cylinder, ejector, ejector rod and head all appear to have been nickel plated. And finally, the hammer and trigger to have been gold plated.

Two finish entries are rather uncommon to encounter in the ledgers, but guns with three distinctly different finishes is rather rare. For guns without any engraving, these would have been a sight to behold and someone likely got two very unique like made New Army revolvers.