Conflicting
Issues, Trademarks and a Couple of Odd Ends
Centaure – the Truer 2nd Generation
Colt Army? A considered personal comment is probably in order here: “Are the Centaures Armies re-issues or replicas?”
There is no doubt about a licensing agreement between Sam Colt and the Belgian Consortium of which
the Hanquets were a valued member. At the same time
there exists no indication that Colt’s ever terminated or cancelled this
contract. But it is a historical fact that no 1860 Army was ever produced outside
the Hartford factory…until 1959 at Rue Treppé Nr. 22,
Liège, Belgium. Before Uberti turned out their replica 1963 and before Colt began marketing their 2nd generations
between 1978 and 1982.
Some Centaure enthusiasts are
pushing this even further by presenting convincing arguments that the Belgians
are the real 2nd generation Colt Armies but not the ones finished
under the Blue Dome in Hartford with the latters’
roots of production firmly in Italy.
However, as the guru says the
market is always right, consider this: prices for Centennial Armies at auctions
on both sides of the Atlantic have increased significantly during the last
couple of months. Even run down specimens of the more common 1st or
3rd variation regular NMAs demand premium prices today nobody
even thought of a year ago. They are now achieving prices comparable to 2nd gen. Colt Armies and we are not even talking about rare Civilians, stocked
Cavalry Models or small scale production variations of the regular NMA
here…Pards & pardettes, the conclusions are all yours.
Centaure
1960 = 2nd generation Colt Army 1860?
With some regularity we are stumbling over threads in gun forums suggesting
that Fabriques d’Armes Unies
de Liège manufactured and/or Centaure pistols actually are the 2nd
and even the 3rd generation Colt Armies. To make a long story short:
Colt commenced selling the 2nd generation Armies 1978. But as we
know FAUL had discontinued their Centaure production already 1973.
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MYTHBUSTER
·
The Centaure 1960s are truer 2nd generation 1860 Armies? PLAUSABLE BUT CAN BE ARGUED BOTH WAYS!
·
FAUL produced the 2nd generation 1860 Armies for Colt? WISHFUL THINKING!
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The Puzzle of the
“Name” of the Belgians: answers to a couple of questions have not yet been found.
1.
Why
do the regular NMAs come with different barrel
markings? More specifically
2.
what was the reasoning for adding CENTENNIAL TRADE MARK?,
3.
who was the driving force behind it: Centennial
Arms Corporation or FAUL?
4.
Who
owns that trade mark, anyhow, FAUL's or Centennial
Arms Corp.? And
5.
was the legend CHICAGO U.S.A. added by the Belgian factory or by
their US distributor?
6.
If CENTENNIAL TRADE MARK was actually related to shipments for the US
market why are there so many specimens with that
barrel marking found in Europe?
7.
Why
were pistols with a barrel marking including CENTENNIAL TRADE MARK only produced from 1963? If this marking was
added to commemorate the Civil War I would have expected them already as from
1961.
Range
Reports:
I would like to see more range reports comparing performance and handling characteristics of
the Centaure to their Italian repro cousins or 2nd and 3rd
generation Colt brothers.
The Hunt
Goes on:
two variants of the Centaure are currently only known from pictures in catalogs or ads, namely the
·
regular NMA 4th variation, 2nd sub-variation
(fluted cylinder, 4-screw frame with the 4th screw flush with the
frame, blue/CCH finish, no “F” prefix
·
Super de Luxe factory engraved NMA
Please, shout when you track one
down, share the pics with us und mail a completed
questionnaire with the specifics.
Two Odd
Ones: #1 - had a conversation during summer
2008 with a German Colt collector, CAS shooter and proud Centaure owner. He
told me about his visit to Fabriques d’Armes Unies de Liège in the late 1960s. He remembered handling there
a newly made C&B revolver in .36
cal. with creeping loading lever. It
looked like a Colt M 1861 Navy.
Could FAUL have been working on
such a pistol? Is the prototype of a Centaure
Navy re-issue out there somewhere? From a production point of view it is
not a far step from the Army to the Navy. Being prepared for the unexpected I
will not be surprised if a “1961 NEW MODEL NAVY” surfaces at an auction,
in the classified section of one of the cowboy forums or gun journals one of
these days.
#2 – An US pard
brought a 1964 ad of Centennial Arms Corp., Chicago to my attention in April
2009 which refers to a 4” barrelled Centaure. The existence of such a pistol
was unheard before. Further research revealed that these pistols were actually advertised
1963 and 1964 in Gun Digest. Below is a copy of the ad. My heart is bleeding
for you because I hear your
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crying “If I could turn back
time” (quote from Cher) considering the prices back then for a NIB Centaure.
But take close look at the last pistol mentioned: there is a “Pocket Army” snubby with 4” barrel offered. It could be had, either on
a RNMA or Civilian Model
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frame. Availability was
special order only. Instead of the usual loading lever the pistol was
advertised to come with a short brass plunger, like we know it from the 3rd generation Colt Police Trapper version. Price 1964 was $ 89,95. If this ad was
placed for 2 consecutive years there must have been some turnaround of these
belly guns. So please, please, keep your eyes open at the next gun show, let us
know if you find one and share the information with the pards & pardettes here.
And now you know the rest of the story … or don’t you?
WDN/April 4, 2009
© 2007 Wolf D. Niederastroth