A Colt 3rd Model Derringer from the 1870s to 1880s in unusually high condition. The blue remains at roughly 90 percent with its original high luster, and about 90 percent of the original silver plating survives as well. Every screw still shows its fire blue. The grips grade excellent. The seller describes it as a superb example, and the finish percentages back that up. It is sold used, as all antiques are.

This derringer belongs with a collector of Colt pocket pistols or early American cartridge handguns. Finding one with both the blue and the silver plating this intact is uncommon, and matching fire-blue screws suggest the gun has not been taken apart and refinished. It is a display and reference piece first; a buyer looking for a shooter should look elsewhere, but a buyer assembling a Colt derringer set would struggle to improve on this grade.

Key features

• Colt 3rd Model Derringer, 1870s-1880s
• About 90 percent original high-luster blue
• About 90 percent original silver plating
• Screws retain fire blue
• Excellent grips

Handguns ship to the FFL dealer you choose at checkout, where you fill in the federal Form 4473 and clear the background check before pickup.