Guns of the Old West – August 2019

FALL 2019

atthetime),andit wasn’tuntil 2002, the

final year of third-generation CBA produc-

tion, that a standard blued No. 5 Holster

Model was introduced with a retail price of

$1,200. None of this, however, would have

happened if legendary Italian arms-maker

Aldo Uberti had not begun producing No. 5

Holster Model reproductions in 1988.

In 1958, Aldo Uberti began reproducing

the Colt 1851 Navy and slowly added more

authentic blackpowder Colt replicas to his

company’slineup.Withvirtuallytheentire

catalogofhistoricColtpercussionmodels

availablebythe1980s,Aldoventuredfur-

therbackintimetoaddthefirstcirca-1842

PatersonNo.5 HolsterModelin1988,some

30 yearsafterbuildinghisfirstColtreplica.

ThePatersonwasinitiallya bluedgun

withthestandard7-inchbarrelandroll-

engravedcylinder.Thegunswereofthefirst

No.5 designwithouta loadinglever.Uberti

thenfollowedColtandaddeda second

variationwitha loadinglevertoperfectly

duplicatetheoriginaldesigns.Thesewere

thesamepartsthatwouldeventuallybeused

tobuildthethird-generationCBAPaterson

models,all threeversionsof theAmerica

RemembersPatersonsanda handfulofaddi-

tionalspeciallimitededitionsforAmerica

Remembers,theU.S.HistoricalSocietyand

theAmericanHistoricalFoundation.

Theselimitedmodelsvaryintermsof

availability,engravingandfinishoptions.

AmongtherarestisthecasedSamuelColt

TexasPatersonfromtheU.S.Historical

SocietyandtheSamuelColtHeritage

MuseumofFineFirearms.Thishandsome,

hand-engravedpistol,withitsbluedfinish,

fineengraving,color-casehardenedbot-

24 GUNSOFTHEOLDWEST

HUNTING FOR PATERSONS

(Above) With its gold-inlaid bands and Colt

blued finish, this Colt Paterson sold for

$4,500. (Left) There would never have been a

third-generation Paterson were it not for Aldo

Uberti, who began building highly authentic

copies of the No. 5 Holster Models in 1988.

This is one of the first antique-finished

models, with a finely crafted Uberti copy of

the Colt capper. The photo shows the original

Paterson, New Jersey, factory in the 1840s.

(Right) The Texas Ranger
with the golden gun? Not
likely, but the American
Historical Foundation
did an entire series of
golden tribute revolvers.
(Far Right) Here’s one of
the most authentic and
striking examples of the
U.S. Historical Society
and Samuel Colt Heritage
Museum of Firearms
limited-edition Paterson
No. 5 Holster Model.