.44 Long Colt. 8" round barrel. SN: 194557 (mfg. ca1871). No finish remaining, brass triggerguard, one-piece varnished walnut grip. Single action metallic cartridge revolver altered from percussion with a six-chambered rebated round cylinder, hammer nose notch rear sight and German silver blade front sight. Barrel with one-line address that reads:  - ADDRESS COL. SAML COLT NEW-YORK U.S.A. AMERICA - and lower left of frame with the two-date in two-line patent marking. The matching serial number 194557 appears on bottom of barrel web, frame, triggerguard and butt with the loading gate numbered 4557. The wedge is unnumbered, grip serial number is not really legible but appears to match. Cylinder with no visible numbers or scene. The Richards-Mason alterations of Colt percussion revolvers was the pinnacle of Colt's attempt to modernize percussion handguns and turn them into metallic cartridge guns. These alterations were fairly short lived, as the Colt 1873 Single Action Army made them obsolete. However, their substantially lower price than the new Colt 1873 meant that the "new old stock" on hand would continue to sell for about a decade after the guns were no longer being assembled.