Colt Firearms Collector
Preserving our American history

According to Robert Best's book: Colt entered into a second contract with the Army for 5,000 more Model 1894 revolvers on April 23, 1895.  Reported serial numbers for this contract were from 63,000 to 67,999, which includes this revolver with the serial number of 67,383.  The last roll marked date on the barrel is Mar. 5, 95..  During the Spanish-American War, regular Army troops were supplied with Colt's .38 double action Model 1894 revolvers and the state militias with only a few of the double action Colts.  During the de-mobilization process after the war, the states requested their units be allowed to keep their new equipment even though many of the units never went overseas.

The model 1894 revolver in this collection is marked on the left side of the frame (N J) for the New Jersey Militia, U. S. Army SN 67,7363. These units were delivered prior to the armistice with Spain and issued prior to the fighting in Cuba. This U.S. Army marked revolver features the inspector stamp "RAC" Renaldo A. Carr on left side of frame and back of cylinder. The "P" inspector and 7363 stamps can be found on the underside of the barrel. The cylinder release is stamped "7383" as well as inside the yoke. The stationary part of the yoke is stamped "7363". Left side of the smooth walnut grips is stamped "1896" with the inspector stamp; bottom of left grip is stamped "RAC". The right grip has the cartouche of Renaldo Carr. All of this information can be obtained in the book "A Study of Colt's New Army & Navy Pattern Double Action Revolver 1889 to 1908" by Robert Best.

This is a  Colt US Army Model 1894 Double Action Revolver in .38 Long Colt caliber with standard 6" barrel, six-shot cylinder, with walnut smooth grips. The 1894 was an improvement over the US Army Model 1892 in that it was equipped with a device that blocks the hammer when the latch was not fully engaged locking the cylinder in place. This gun is SN 67,7363. 

It is interesting that these Colt DA's were introduced into service in the last days of the western frontier and was the US Army's main issue handgun when war broke out with Spain over Cuba and the Philippines in 1898. Of course, the Colt Double Action was a great design but its .38 caliber cartridge was found to be insufficient at stopping the Moros in the Philippines a couple of years later at the turn of the 20th century. Today, these 1894's are a bit of a challenge to locate in original unaltered condition. Many were upgraded in later years to the Model 1901 with the addition of a lanyard ring on the base of their handles and were refinished and re-marked by Colt. This one has never been altered or refurbished and is still wearing 98% of the original finish.