Tag Archives: Spiller & Burr

Rare Confederate Revolvers

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(Photo: National Firearms Museum)

(Photo: National Firearms Museum)

These two rare birds are a set of Griswold and Gunnison (top) and Spiller & Burr revolvers made in the Confederacy during the Civil War– both more or less poor brass framed copies of New England patented guns.

About 3,700 Griswold and Gunnison revolvers were manufactured in Georgia by Samuel Griswold, a transplanted Yankee from Connecticut. This .36 caliber sixgun was a copy of the Colt Model 1851 revolver. The bottom revolver is also a Confederate .36 caliber that was made by Spiller & Burr, initially in Richmond, Virginia and later in Georgia. It was also a copy of a Northern design, following the Whitney revolver. The latter firm had made between 1,200 and 1,500 revolvers total.

Going price on these guns typically top five figures.

With these guns being so rare, they are also faked alot– as Phil Schreier breaks down on the very poor S&B copy below. (Which, if you think about it, is a bad copy of a bad copy).

Got some scratch and looking for an investment?

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Cliff and Lynne Young assembled a collection over a 65 year period but it will be sold in just a day by Cowan Auctions this week, with subsequent offerings put on the block later in the year and in 2017.

As you can imagine, these are not your typical gun show relics.

“There are collectors who just buy Confederate arms,” said Lewis. “Cliff went deeper than that. Quality and historical significance were paramount. These are truly the best known examples of some of the rarest Confederate weapons ever produced.”

Young was a studious collector, often documenting his guns to a degree far surpassing what is typically seen.

“Some of them have a file of provenance two-feet thick,” said Jack Lewis, Cowan’s director of Historic Firearms and Early Militaria in a statement.

Here is some of the more than 47 uber-rare items on the block:

The unique, one-of-a-kind wooden model for the LeMat revolver submitted to the U.S. Patent Office for protection against competitors.

The unique, one-of-a-kind wooden model for the LeMat revolver submitted to the U.S. Patent Office for protection against competitors.

Griswold & Gunnison prercussion revolver. Featured prominently in AMC’s Hell on Wheels, interest in these ultra rare Confederate wheelguns has exploded in recent years. Cullen Bohannon, is that you?

Griswold & Gunnison percussion revolver. Featured prominently in AMC’s Hell on Wheels, interest in these ultra rare Confederate wheelguns has exploded in recent years. Cullen Bohannon, is that you?

J. H. Dance & Brothers Navy percussion Confederate revolver without recoil shield. “Always considered a ‘holy grail’ for the advanced Confederate arms collector”

J. H. Dance & Brothers Navy percussion Confederate revolver without recoil shield. “Always considered a ‘holy grail’ for the advanced Confederate arms collector”

Extremely rare Confederate Cofer Third Type Revolver in its original holster as captured by 11th Maine Captain S.H. Merrill. Just 266 Cofer revolvers were picked up by the Confederate government and only 15 are believed to still exist.

Extremely rare Confederate Cofer Third Type Revolver in its original holster as captured by 11th Maine Captain S.H. Merrill. Just 266 Cofer revolvers were picked up by the Confederate government and only 15 are believed to still exist.

The sale will be held at Cowan’s Auctions, 6270 Este Ave., Cincinnati. Public previews are noon to 5 p.m. Monday, April 25; and 8 to 10 a.m. both days of the sale, Tuesday and Wednesday, April 26-27.

More images and details in my column over at Guns.com