Armi San Marco 1860 Armies with Colt 2nd gen barrel assembly

[Wyatt Earp]

Hello to the forum, Wyatt Earp (SASS #1628Life) here,
You guys were recommended to me from the SASS Wire forum as a wealth of knowledge on all things Colt, so here goes. Back in the early 1990's I purchased a pair of ASM 1860 Armies from EMF Company. They are consecutive serial numbers and are equipped with what I was told are genuine Colt (2nd gen) barrel assemblies, even though the underside is marked "ASM Blackpowder only 44cal". They actually had three consec #'rd guns, but I only needed the two.
I'm looking for some background on these pistols. Did ASM make the parts for Colt? Are they worth anything more than a regular used ASM 1860? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Wyatt

[Southron]

My understanding [and I might be wrong] is that ASM did indeed manufacture some of the later generations of "Colts." Colt did not consider them to be "genuine Colts" because they charged the American importer and distributor a set charge for every gun he sold with the Colt markings on them. So, you might say they were guns "licensed" by Colt.

When the contract was up, ASM sent a bunch of replica revolvers to the U.S. with the Colt markings and sold them to different distributors.

Colt cried "foul" because they were no longer getting their payments for use of the name "Colt" marked on the guns and sued.

Colt won the lawsuit.

Like I said, I have only a "fuzzy understanding" about what happened. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable will jump into this thread and enlighten us.

As for "value," I would check with some of the auction houses like Rock Island or James D. Julia and see what they would value your guns at.

Theoretically since your guns [IF they have Colt markings on them] are. by law, subject to seizure by the U.S. Customs and can be destroyed as theya re in violation of copyright laws.

[Mad Dog Stafford]

Hi Wyatt Earp, jump over to the "Welcome Wagon" and tell us a few things about yourself. How did you find this Great Forum?