I am seeking information on the value, manufacturer, model, date and history of an antique, snub-nosed, bored-through pocket revolver I picked up for my son a few years back in Des Moines, IA. It has a single 5-point star followed by "No. 38" stamped on the frame above the cylinder. The letter "o" is raised and underlined. It has a very short (1.25") snub-nosed octagonal barrel with front and rear sights. The frame appears to be made of brass with a silver finish that's mostly worn away. The cylinder, trigger/hammer assembly, ejector rod and barrel are all made of a grey metal (lead or steel?). There is diagonal cross-hatching on both the hammer and spur trigger. It is loaded by means of a groove molded into the frame behind the cylinder. On either side of this groove there is a raised lip molded along side the cylinder. In some of the pictures you'll see a piece of shiny silver metal between the cylinder and frame. I had the gun mounted inside a picture frame and this is just the heavy gauge wire used to hold the gun in place. There are no screws visible, but there are rivets. It has a two-piece dark wood grip in the "birds-beak" or "birds-head" style. The wood is held in place by some sort of pin or rivet. The cylinder is just 1.25" long and has either a 5 or 6 round capacity. I can't tell for sure because it's mounted with the cylinder slightly off center and I don't want to destroy the frame to find out. There is no knurling on the base of the ejector rod. I inspected this revolver prior to having it framed. There is no serial number visible and no manufacturer's marks other than those described. The plaque mounted beside the revolver says it's a "Gambler's Gun" from the 1860's, but this is just a dealer's best guess. The single 5-point star and "No. 38" really have me confused. The only reference I've been able to find to this mark is in relation to Smith and Wesson. However, I can't find any S & W guns even remotely similar to my son's. At the same time the Colt New Line Pocket Model Revolver looks very similar, but I've read that the barrel on this series only went as small as 1.5" while the barrel on my son's is a tiny 1.25", as shown in the pictures.
I posted several photographs of this revolver on PhotoBucket and the link is:
http://s1301.beta.photobucket.com/us...ket Revolver
I also wanted to say that Councilman Steve Salvatori's statement about fighting for principles really nails it. I am presently in just such a fight and it's obvious my adversary has no clue the strength of my resolve.
I posted several photographs of this revolver on PhotoBucket and the link is:
http://s1301.beta.photobucket.com/us...ket Revolver
I also wanted to say that Councilman Steve Salvatori's statement about fighting for principles really nails it. I am presently in just such a fight and it's obvious my adversary has no clue the strength of my resolve.