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Serial
Numbers #
General Placement & Rational
# Extra
Cylinders
# Gaps in the Serial Numbers
# Total Production # International Distribution # Thoughts about the Many Models & Variations # Strategy 1: Keep Old & Reach New Shooters
AND Collectors with the NMA # Strategy 2: Increase Production
Output & Implement Cost Cutting Measures # Mythbuster |
General Placement & Rational: Like the Colt Armies of the
1st generation complete or partial serial numbers are to be found on
all major parts of the Belgian. They were visible on barrel lug, frame and
trigger-guard…
|
Typical placement of serials on #12307 on barrel
lug, frame and trigger-guard… |
…but trigger-guard of #7957 not numbered |
…or stamped on the front
(very early pistols only), side (early pistols only) or breech-side of the
cylinder. Only a few pistols had no digits on their cylinders or extra cylinder
at all.
|
The last 3 digits of #1269 on the front side of the
cylinder |
Serial number of #1423 between the cylinder scene |
Like #4612 most pistols have (last) digits of serial
on the breech side of the cylinder |
No serial on the cylinder of #11783 |
Hammers and back-straps
were stamped with all digits of the serial number whereas the grip was usually
marked with the last 2 or 3 digits only. Few grips are stamped with the last
digit of the serial number.
|
Serial on hammer of #9248… |
…and back-strap of #12043 |
Last 3 digits stamped in the
grip of #12966 |
It is our today’s
understanding that FAUL numbered their Centaure Regular New Model Armies (RNMAs),
1st variation Marshals (3-screw version) and factory engraved
pistols consecutively and together from #1 to approximately #14500, no matter
the model and/or variation or sub-variation. Models with F-prefix (3rd
& 4th variation Cavalry Model, 2nd variation Marshal)
are numbered in the same system, just the F-prefix added to the serial number
underneath the barrel lug but without the prefix on the other numbered parts.
Only the models with C- (1st
& 2nd variation Civilian Model) and F-prefix (1st
& 2nd variation Cavalry Model!) pistols are numbered in separate
blocks.
Extra Cylinders: in the USA you could order your 1st variation RNMA’s (rebated, plain cylinder) with extra cylinders. Your
choice was either an extra cylinder with the Centaure proprietary naval scene
or the one with the Colt-type naval scene. In Europe your 1st
variation RNMA could be had with an extra cylinder of the Centaure proprietary
naval scene only.
The
serial numbers of these extra cylinders did not match the one of the pistol. If
your 2nd or 3rd variation RNMA has a cylinder mismatching
the pistol this is likely the extra cylinder installed some years ago and the
original rebated, plain cylinder has gone missing. Provided, of course the
serial number is below #14270!
Furthermore,
we have one 6th variation RNMA (stainless look, fluted cylinder), 2nd
sub-variation from 1973 in the survey with all matching numbers. This pistol
was delivered with an extra cylinders of the plain, rebated kind in the proper
high gloss polish without any serials.
Gaps in the Serial Numbers: regarding RNMAs and Marshals (1st variation) two gaps of
serial numbers exist between ca. #14500 and #18408 (USA), and again between
#18408 and #5 1971 (Germany). Please, browse down for a proposed explanations.
Something is unusual about
#18408 from the USA, however, namely
the barrel marking which reads “1960 NEW MODEL ARMY” CENTENNIAL TRADE MARK. If this were a 1973 production gun which
the serial number indicates her barrel marking should just read “1960 NEW MODEL ARMY”. The digits on the breech
side of the cylinder read 458 but not 408 to make this a pistol with all
numbers matching.
#5 1971 (below) has three unique features as
well:
#1 this is the Centaure
with the highest serial number currently known
#2 there is a distinct gap
between the digits “5” and the “1971” of the S/N. No other Belgian has been
found where the S/N is embossed into barrel, frame, trigger-guard and hammer in
such a way.
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S/N
5 1971 |
The
late H. J. Stammel of German cowboy novel writer
fame, Western gun shooter and renowned gun collector owned the two Centaures #10024 and above pistol #5 1971. He described the latter in German gun magazine DWJ in 1973. He did not
write , however, about the unusual fashion in which the S/Ns were stamped on
barrel, frame, trigger-guard and hammer.
#3 when she was rediscovered 2008, the new owner let
me disassemble and inspect her in some more detail: the cylinder was stamped
correctly with 971, i. e. the 3 last digits of the
S/N. Back-strap and grip were found marked with #13709 and 709 respectively,
however. She was also stripped of her original blue/CCH finish that she still
had in the 1973 article.
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Back-strap of S/N 5 1971 |
There are 2 issues here: #1 in my opinion Stammel’s description of his #5 1971 in this 1973 DWJ
publication led later writers to state as a fact that ca. 60,000 Centaure
C&B pistols were manufactured…which I cannot substantiate, see tables
below. #2 since this cowboy is one of the last romantics
who read too many spy novels what about this theory: “13703” is the real
serial number whereas “5 1971” represents some kind on encrypted (date) code
to commemorate a date important to then |
commemorate a date important to then owner Stammel. Like
May (5) 1971…assuming Stammel special ordered her
from FAUL that way? If it were a directly ordered gun with this special marking
that would also explain the lack of the B. HARLOS RIEDEN importer mark which was often found on Centaures
from that period in Germany. No Centaure with the serial number #13703 is currently
known. If #13703 is actually the serial number the correct barrel marking for
that period 1972/73 should be “1960 NEW MODEL ARMY”. On #5 1971 the barrel marking reads CENTENNIAL TRADE MARK “1960 NEW MODEL ARMY”, however.
This story got a new twist
November 26, 2009 when Centaure #043573
was discovered at the big German gun show in Kassel at one of the dealer
booths. She was subsequently liberated and this 1st variation, 2nd
sub-variation RNMA had the barrel marking CENTENNIAL TRADE MARK “1960 NEW MODEL ARMY”. #043573 is
currently the only 6 digit Centaure known, has again the “wrong” barrel marking
for the period but more importantly disassembly revealed that only barrel lug,
frame and trigger-guard were stamped #043573
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RNMA #043573; barrel
lug, frame & trigger-guard
stamped #043573... |
…but hammer &
back-strap marked #11909, cylinder #909, grip 9 (not pictured) |
but cylinder, hammer, trigger-guard and grip were marked #11909 or digits
thereof. No Centaure numbered #11909 is currently known. If #11909 were the
actual S/N she was made earlier during 1972. The barrel marking for Centaures confirmed of that period is CENTENNIAL
TRADE MARK “1960 NEW
MODEL ARMY”. Which is what we have here.
When I discussed the
subject with Colt collector and well-known Western gun dealer Kurt Bouras of Mainz (www.classic-firearms.com)
he was not surprised at all and challenged me: “What did Colt do towards the end of their 1860 production? Did they
scrap the surplus parts? No, they grabbed whatever usable parts there were on
the floor and in the warehouse and assembled them into new (mismatching)
Armies”. After having digested his blunt statement here is my considered
opinion about what happened at FAUL’s late 1972 early
1973 when the end of the Centaure production was on the wall. The Belgians
swept the house, double-checked quality and proof house rejects and/or returned
pistols (which were all serial numbered!), and cannibalized them for usable
parts. New parts from the production line namely barrels,
frames, trigger-guards were irreproducibly
serial numbered
|
(currently
no “rational” can be offered) and mated with these salvaged parts to new
pistols. Fitting and finish found in these mismatching pistols is of the high
standard you would expect from |
FAUL’s. Does this theory make sense to you?
I like to refer to these
pistols as Mixed Serial Factory Reworks
(MSFR). To get the definition straight MSFRs comprise
newly made barrel, frame and trigger-guard (visible serial numbers) mated with
back-strap/grip assembly +/- cylinder and hammer of previously returned and/or
reworked pistols from the 1971/72 period.
Since the highest serial
number of a regularly numbered Centaure currently known is #14270 it is
suggested that you carefully check the matching of the parts whenever you
happen to stumble over a Centaure with a serial number higher than
#14270…because you might just have found another rare MSFR.
Another gap of serial
numbers has been found in the Cavalry
Models: the first production runs were between 1960 and ended probably
1963, S/Ns between #F1 and around #F900 (1st & 2nd
variations: 7,5” barrel), i. e. I believe that only
ca. 900 pistols were made during this early period. Most were sold with
matching stock. Another mini batch was produced ca. 1971 with 8” barrel, however. It is assumed that no more than a
total 120 of these later Cavalry Models without (3rd variation) and
with shoulder stock (4th variation) were made. The only pistols
observed so far are #F11117 and #F11295 (3rd variation) and
#F11166 and #F11226 (4th variation). Contrary to the 1st
& 2nd variation these later production pistols have a single
F-prefix only stamped above the digits of the serial number under the barrel
lug whereas all other numbered part are stamped without prefix!
The 2nd
variation Marshals (4-srew version)
was produced in the serial number range of the 3rd and 4th
variation Cavalry Model. Like these Cavalry pistols these very rare variations
of the Marshals feature that single F-prefix in that same position under the
barrel lug (see pictures below).
Neither factory nor period
Liège Proof house records exist any more. To relate serial numbers to year of
production this issue had to be addressed “indirectly”. Therefore, approximate
dates of original purchase can be estimated by Proof house inspectors’ time of
duty. Some early original sales slips have been found, too. According to old
correspondence available from dealers it seems that the pistols were always in
short supply on both sides of the Atlantic, implying very short turn-around
time on the dealer’s shelf. This gives a pretty good guesstimate for the early
period through February 1968. For the later period there are many old sales
slips from the original buyers still available.
While the Liège Proof house
used date letters as year codes
since 1922 none has been discovered on any of the Belgians inspected.
So, please, holler when you find a date letter on your 1960 NMA.
Based on the inspector
marks we have to assume that some 100 pistols were manufactured and proof
tested already in 1959! Lowest number in the survey is #11, highest #5 1971
(see comments above). Since the Liège Proof house did
not mark any gun with inspector marks between 1968 and 1973 this would indicate
that FAUL discontinued production of the Centaures
during early 1973.
After the first 500
RNMAs with the rebated and plain cylinder were made
starting 1959 (1st variation RNMA) the Civilian Model was added
later in 1960, numbered from #C1 up. In late Spring of 1961 the first fluted
and stocked Army, the Cavalry Model (1st variation), was launched,
numbered from #F1 up. Production started, however, already in 1960 according to
the inspector marks found. The few variants made of the 2nd
variation Cavalry Model were first featured in ads 1962.
Regular pistols
including the prefix models have all numbered parts with matching numbers or
(last) digits thereof. No assembly numbers were used.
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F-prefix of #F85
1st variation…l |
…and of #F11117 3rd
variation Cavalry Model |
F-prefix
of #F11510 2nd variation Marshal Model |
C- and
F-prefix models (1st & 2nd variations Cavarly Model only) pistols have the serials with prefix on
barrel lug, frame, and trigger-guard. The prefix may or may not be present on
cylinder, hammer and back-strap. Grips inspected do not feature the prefix.
Later
Cavalry Models (3rd & 4th variation) and the 2nd
variations of the Marshal Models have one single F-prefix above the digits of
the serial number under the barrel lug only. All other serial numbers are
without the prefix.
Total Production: based on the guns reported into the survey it is estimated that the total
production of Belgian Colts between 1959 and 1973 amounts to less than 16,000
pistols, give or take a few (table below left). Totals are projected from the
data of > 320 specimens (> 2 % of assumed output) documented in November
2009.
|
|
RNMA 1st variation
#925 (USA) Of the total number of New Model Armies produced the Regular New |
Model Armies (RNMA)
represent the biggest portion with ca 13,330 pistols. An extrapolation of their
data reveals the estimated number of their different variations and
sub-variations, see left table further down.
|
RNMA 2nd variation #2073
(USA) |
RNMA 3rd variation #3408
(USA) |
International
Distribution: it would appear that 50
to 60 % of the Belgians manufactured were sold into the USA, probably less than
100 pistols to other parts of the world like down-under, the rest to Europe and
particularly to Germany. Furthermore, it seems that most of the US shipments
were made in the early period 1959 through 1970. Europe jumped on this
bandwagon from the 1964 only when first sales were reported.
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Civilian Model 2nd variation #C489 (USA) |
Thoughts
about the Many Models & Variations: between
1959 and 1973 FAUL appears to have been pretty creative and busy introducing
new models and variations of the New Model Army. What could have been the
rational? Browse
further down to the two tables summarizing some important milestones of the
developments: 1959 through |
1963 seems to be a
period of straight line extension at FAUL’s: a total
of 4 models marketed, with the RNMA in 3 variations plus a few sub-variations,
the Pocket Army in 3, the Civilian and the Cavalry Model in 2 variations each.
Behind the scene in Liège internal design
improvements were an ongoing process, some at the expense of period correctness:
modifications of the muzzle crown come to mind, from a flat to a rounded one.
|
|
Cavalry Model 1st variation
#F651 with detachable shoulder stock (USA) Further to be mentioned are the alterations of the front sight which
had the PC low profile initially but was later increased in
1962 ad of Pocket Army (USA)
RNMA 4th variation #11783 (Germany) |
height to optimize POA
and POI. This alteration made the target shooters happy. The evolution from the
period correct square ended to the tapered arbor in 3
steps (with and without separate grease groove) is another important
development. With some overlaps to use existing stocks this program was
completed around 1965.
From about 1964 the
first “down-sizing” of chambers took place, the change from large to mid-size
chambers. Sales must have been pleasing for the owners of Fabriques
d’Armes Unies de Liège with no direct competition until 1963 when Uberti’s launched their version of the 1860 Army. But
market demand must have outgrown
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by far FAUL’s production capacity at around
1965/66 thanks to the still booming US market and
some international sales like to New Zealand as well.
RNMA 5th variation #12877
(Germany) 1967 was the year of the launch of the first pistols in the new
stainless look (“in the white” finish/high gloss polish), namely the 5th
and 6th variation of the RNMA. Particularly |
|
noteworthy here is the 6th variation
because this is the first RNMA with a fluted cylinder! This
must have coincided with the second “down-sizing” of the chambers from mid-size
to the small version. If sales were flat or even declining in the USA they were
probably more than offset by the European shooters who rediscovered C&B
revolvers. Interestingly, first revolvers were reported from Europe, Belgium,
France, Germany, as late as 1964 only.
|
|
RNMA 6th variation #12266
(Germany) Certainly Clint Eastwood, Lee van Cleef and
the popularity of the Spaghetti Westerns on the Eastern side of the big pond
were influential here. This nice trend continued until the early 1970s when
low-cost Italian |
and Spanish black
powder replicas flooded the market in general and C&B percussion revolver
markets in particular, leading to an erosion of market prices in a still
growing market. From
today’s perspective it would appear that FAUL tried to combat this hostile
development by applying 2 strategies to
# protect their market position as the
premium supplier in the 1860 Army segment
# take further advantage of the market
growth
Strategy 1: Keep old & reach new shooters AND collectors with the
NMA: this would explain the addition of another short
barrelled model 1971 named Marshal Model, this time with loading lever as
opposed to the Pocket Army of the 1960s. This move extended the line to five
models. In the same year followed the re-launch of the Cavalry Model with
regular 8” barrel now (3rd and 4th variation Cavalry
Models), but from 1972 particularly the explosion in variations and
|
De Luxe factory engraved RNMAs #13139+13140
(France) |
Presentation style factory engraved RNMA #11842 (Germany) |
sub-variations of the
RNMA plus the launch of the three factory engraved versions must be noted. They
just went nuts. It is an often overlooked fact, however, that FAUL wrote gun
history with their 1972 introduction of the first truly stainless steel percussion revolver as the 7th variation
of their RNMA line, years before Armi
|
RNMA 7th variation
#12736 (RSA) san Marco (ASM), Armi san
Paolo (ASP) aka Euroarms,
Colt, |
|
Ruger and Uberti jumped on that bandwagon.
Strategy
2: Increase production output &
implement cost cutting measures: to increase production output
additional unskilled labor was hired (which quickly
led to quality complaints and subsequent loss in credibility as the high
quality manufacturer…see details in Production page).
Furthermore, we
discovered the return of the square ended arbor
without separate grease groove. Back-straps that used to be welded from 3
separate parts were now casts. The inventory cutting which went alongside with
this program, however, is another explanation for the many mall-scale
variations and sub-variations of the New Model Army.
|
|
Marshal
Model 1st variation #13075 (Germany) When
you bring the relative rareness of the different RNMAs, |
Civilians, Pocket
Armies, Marshals, Cavalry models, their variations and sub-variations into
perspective as a “reversed hitlist” like in the two
tables above this provides another interesting insight: because it is the many
short runs and variations
over the whole period of production of the Belgian Colts from 1959to 1973 that created today’s growing interest for collectors of these
guns.
|
MYTHBUSTER #1 Total
number of Belgian Colts approx 60,000 units? With only around 16,000
confirmed this MYTH is BUSTED! #2 Identical models and variations are numbered using different schemes
in the USA and Europe? With same system applied MYTH is BUSTED! #3 No correlation of serial numbers to year of production? Although no company and Liege Proof house records are available anymore indirect correlations through sales slips etc confirm correlation. MYTH BUSTED! |
WDN/December 10, 2009
© 2007 Wolf D. Niederastroth