545 Marlin-Ballard 1 1/2 Hunters Rifle 40/63 caliber, 28” round barrel, S/N 2958. With all matching serial numbers throughout. Blue finished barrel with straight blade German silver front sight, adjustable raised buckhorn rear sight and marked with the caliber at the breech. Left of frame marked J.M. Marlin New Haven Conn. U.S.A. Ballard’s Patent Nov. 5 1861. Walnut stock with tapered forearm and crescent buttplate. All of the original blue finish remains on the barrel. The frame, breechblock, hammer, lever and buttplate retain almost all of their case coloring, and display strong colors. The stock has a very minor age crack where it meets the frame on the left side. Stock and forearm in otherwise very good condition. The bore and mechanics are excellent. This rifle is like new, and has most likely never been fired. $4,500 - $5,500
546 Brown Deluxe Sporting Rifle With Grip Extractor .44-60 Sharps centerfire caliber, 30” octagonal barrel, S/N 20331. With all matching serial numbers throughout. The top of the barrel is marked with the serial number. The top of the frame is also marked with the serial number, with the left side of the frame marked Brown Mfg. Co. Newburyport Mass and Ballard’s Patent Nov. 5, 1861. With folding beech combination front sight, adjustable dovetail rear sight and folding upper tang peep sight. Deluxe walnut stock and forearm, with crescent buttplate and sling swivels on the underside of the butt and the barrel. The frame features Brown’s unique grip shell extractor, found in early production rifles. Less than fifty of these are known to exist. According to John Dutcher, this is the only known pre Marlin-Ballard in a centerfire cartridge. The barrel has nearly all of its original blue finish remaining, with one or two small insignificant handling dings. The frame, breechblock, hammer and lever have a mostly even gunmetal patina, with some areas of case coloring showing through. The buttplate has an even gunmetal patina, with some light staining. The stock and forearm have some light handling marks, but are in good condition. The bore and mechanics are excellent. $1,500 - $2,500
547 Ballard Sporting Rifle by Ball and Williams .38 rimfire caliber, 24 1/8” octagonal barrel, S/N 316. With matching serial numbers on all parts. Center flat of barrel marked Ball & Williams Worcester Mass, with the right side marked Ballards Patent Nov. 5 1861 and the left side marked Merwin & Bray Agt’s New York. The barrel features a raised blade front sight and an adjustable split dovetail rear sight. The frame, breechblock, lever and crescent buttplate are all brass, and were once silver plated. With varnished walnut stock and forearm with ejector. This exact rifle is pictured on page 19 of John T. Dutcher’s book Ballard: The Great American Single Shot Rifle. The barrel features nearly all of its original blue finish, with some very minor scuffs and light fading to the edges. Traces of silver plating remain on the underside of the brass frame, with more traces visible on the buttplate. The hammer has some case coloring remaining in the protected areas. The stock and forearm have very minor nicks and dings and are in very good condition. The bore and mechanics are excellent. $1,200 - $1,600
548 Marlin-Ballard No. 4 Perfection Rifle .40-63 Ballard everlasting caliber, 30” octagonal barrel (rounded at breech), S/N 17836. With all matching serial numbers throughout. The barrel is marked with the caliber at the breech. With German silver straight blade front sight and adjustable buckhorn rear sight. The left side of the casehardened frame is marked J.M. Marlin, New-Haven, Conn., U.S.A. Ballard’s Patent Nov. 5, 1861. Walnut stock with crescent style buttplate, and tapered forend. The barrel is in excellent condition, with almost all of its original blue finish, with only one very minor scuff on the left side near the breech. The frame, hammer and breechblock retain nearly all of their original case colors, with some light fading to the lever and buttplate. The stock and forearm have some minute nicks and dings, and are in very good to excellent condition. The bore and mechanics are excellent. $2,500 - $4,500 SEE DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS, ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHS AND CONDITION REPORTS OF ALL LOTS AT COWANS.COM
APRIL 26-27, 2016 CINCINNATI, OHIO
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