Belgiam made Colt replica

Cult of 1858 · Oct 9, 2011

I was at a gun show today and spotted a nice percussion revolver.
It showed "made in belgium" and 44cal, cylinders were fluted and there was a stamp of a centaur carrying a spear or rifle, where Colts Patent is on the left side of the frame.

Can anyone provide any extra info on what this may be?

sltm1 · Oct 9, 2011

Cult, This is a Centaure made by the Belgin "Faul" Company (actually a consortium of sorts). This pistol is made under the original license granted buy Samuel Colt to make the 1851 Navy model. Here's a comprehensive site on the Centaure Revolver. They are made of better material's than the Italian pistols and I would buy it if possible. Anything under $300.00 is a good buy.
http://www.1960nma.org/

mykeal · Oct 9, 2011

Yep. Originally made under license from Colt they're called 1960 New Model Army Revolvers, aka Centennial Army, aka Cenature, by FAUL in Liege, Belgium. The Friends of the Centaure Society (FROCS) is a collector's group; they have their own web site where you can learn much more than I can tell you here.

I am FROCS #53, and I own two:

Cult of 1858 · Oct 9, 2011

Would these happen to be manufactured on the old "Brevete" machinery?

sltm1 · Oct 9, 2011

Brevet is a French term I believe, that means "under license of/from", and yes that's what I consider mine, either a late arrival original or a true 2nd Generation.

Cult of 1858 · Oct 9, 2011

ahhhh CRAP!

Now that means that I have another collectible that I walked away from.

This was on the table directly opposite the entry door. $395

I looked, walked around the hall, returned and looked again, walked around the next hall, came back, looked again, then walked out the door. I got about 25 yards before I said sod it and went back in. Unluckily the guy wasnt "a dealer" and so didnt take CC. I did think enough to get his business card though!

So from what i remember, it had a blank, fluted cylinder, centaur on left side of frame with 'gun raised' and the serial number looks like L 02xx (I took a pic, but its blurry). I cant be completely sure, but when I was looking at it, I was thinking that it wasn't an 8" barrel and wanted to measure it against something, but never got to that. Were any done in shorter barrels?
Finally, at $395, should I give the guy a call and buy it?

sltm1 · Oct 10, 2011

Cult, I'm sure they aren't going to be making anymore soon, so, yeah, if you've got the $$ and want a collectable, make the guy an offer. My serial # is 1299, which I believe makes it a 1961 edition, the one you saw might be earlier, but the "L" throws me, maybe it was a "1" which would place it it the 1960-61 period.
Mykeal, I'm a late arrival member also, but I don't know my # off hand, same name though.

madcratebuilder · Oct 10, 2011

Originally made under license from Colt

Not exactly. The old 19th century license was never "officially" canceled. The 1960 Colt Army Centaure is not affiliated with Colt in any way.

They have become collectable and priced accordingly. Like the Italian models they may need some Smithing to be reliable. Manufactured from a high grade of steel, they can be the equal of a 2nd Gen Colt.

1960 Colt Army Centaure, made in 1962.

bprevolver · Oct 16, 2011

Centennial Fluted Cylinder 1860 Army

It is too bad you could not measure the barrel length. The 1860 Army with fluted cylinders were originally sold with a shoulder stock. They have an "F" prefix to the serial number and the stock would be numbered the same. If this revolver had an 8" barrel length then it would be one of the rarest of all the Centaure revolvers(I have only seen one in 20yrs). They normally had a
7 1/2" barrel.

Check out Wolf Niederastroth's web site about the Belgium made revolvers.

http://www.1960nma.org

Belgiam made Colt replica

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