Sergeant's service revolver, 1873 model, French (1880)

Title	Sergeant's service revolver, 1873 model
Nationality	French
Period	1880

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This Chamelot-Delvigne system six-shot revolver is an 11 mm centre fire (obsolete cartridge). The sergeant's version had a plain cylinder, differentiating it from the officer's fluted one. These weapons would have been carried throughout the old French empire, viz Indo-China and Africa, and were brought back into service in 1915.

It was brought back into use during the Great War because the weapon that succeeded it simply did not have enough stopping power, the bullets being known to bounce off wet German greatcoats. This weapon would knock a man down, if not kill him.

The bore is in excellent shape, as is the action, and all the serial numbers on the piece are matching. There is a little wear to the wood grips (rather more on the outside than the inside grip), and there has been some very light rust patination, most of which I have managed to polish off.

A truly beautiful design as service revolvers go, famous in Hollywood for being used in the film The Mummy.

If you want to comment on this item—re quality, age, etc—please email me.

[Firearms : Obsolete Cartridge : French : 19th Century]

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