In 1878 Smith & Wesson introduced a new, refined version of their successful Model No 3 First Model revolver. The Model 3 had been introduced in 1870 and would eventually be known as the “First Model American” to differentiate it from the Russian model that would be based upon the No 3 “American”. The Model 3 was Smith & Wesson’s first large frame, large bore revolver and introduced the primary feature that would define most of the large frame Smith & Wesson revolver production through the end of the 19^th century. The gun was a six-shot, single action revolver chambered for the .44 S&W American cartridge. It had an 8” ribbed barrel and featured a top-break action with simultaneous extraction via an extraction star that was actuated by opening the action and pivoting the barrel downward. The Model 3 had the distinction of being the first cartridge revolver to be adopted by the US military that was not an alteration from percussion. The revolutionary design caught the attention of military powers around the world and very soon the Russian government approached Smith & Wesson about a contract for the revolvers in a slightly more powerful .44 caliber cartridge that would become known at the .44 Russian. While only about 8,000 of the original “First Model American” Model No 3 Revolvers would be produced between 1870 and 1872, the revolver spawned an entire series of guns. A slightly improved variant of the revolver was introduced in 1872 as the Model No 3 Second Model, and it was from this production that the first Russian contract guns were delivered, known to collectors today as the “Old, Old Russian” model. Over the next few years contracts from Russia and Japan continued to come in, resulting in variations and improvements in the Model 3 design. Additionally, the US military adopted a .45 caliber variant for limited use, with a modified barrel catch assembly developed by US cavalry Major George Schofield, and these guns would become known as the 1^st and 2^nd Model Schofield revolvers.

By 1878 the success of the Model No 3 was quite clear, and a refined variant was introduced, designated as the New Model No. 3 or “Model No 3 New Model”, which was also referred to as the “.44 Single Action” in some company literature. Like the original Model No 3, it was a six-shot, single action revolver with a top break design and simultaneous extraction. While the original No 3 was only offered in only two barrel lengths, 8” as standard and 6” on special order, the New Model was offered in a variety of standard barrel lengths including 3 ½”, 4”, 5”, 6”, 6 ½”, 7”, 7 ½” and 8”. The barrel was tapered with a full-length rib and a pinned front sight. Standard sights were a fixed notch on the top of the barrel latch and a rounded front sight. Target sights were available as an option with an adjustable rear sight and a square cut front bladed pinned into the rib instead of the round blade found on the fixed sight guns. As with the original Model 3, the standard finishes were either blued or nickel plated with color casehardened hammers, triggerguards and triggers. The standard grips were either two-piece checkered walnut or checkered black hard rubber. Some of the very late production guns shipped circa 1907 and later had Smith & Wesson medallions in their wood grips. As with any Smith & Wesson of the period a wide range of special features, factory options and upgrades were available for the revolvers, ranging from custom finishes and grips to engraving, special sights and extension stocks to turn the guns into ersatz carbines. While the standard chambering for the revolvers was the .44 Russian cartridge, other calibers could be custom ordered and factory records indicate that the revolvers were produced in at least thirteen other calibers, ranging from as small as .32 S&W and .32-44 S&W to .44 Henry, and as large as .45 Schofield, .45 Webley and .455 MkI and MkII. Due to the wide variety of options available for the New Model No. 3, a rather large collection would be necessary to cover the major types and variations of this revolver. Factory records indicate that 35,796 of the revolvers were produced between 1878 and 1912, with some of those guns going to Japanese military contracts, the Australian Colonial Police as well as the US Ordnance Department for the State of Maryland. Another small number of the New Model No. 3 revolvers were sold to the US Government for the use of the Revenue Marine, better known as the Revenue Cutter Service. The Revenue Cutter Service was one of the direct ancestors of the modern United States Coast Guard, and of all the various contracts for Smith & Wesson New Model No. 3 Revolvers is one of the scarcest. Authors Robert Neal & Roy Jinks identify two small groups of the guns by serial number on page189 of their book Smith & Wesson 1857-1945 – A Handbook for Collectors. However, at the time the book was written it was not known for what department or agency the guns had been acquire for. They note that 63 guns were shipped to the US Government on June 27, 1890, and an additional 44 were shipped on September 17, 1890. This totals only 107 guns. It has subsequently been determined these guns were shipped to the Revenue Marine. The guns are not marked in any way and can only be identified by serial number and then researched in the Smith & Wesson records archives.

The United States Revenue Cutter Service was initially established as the Revenue Marine service with the purpose of being an armed customs enforcement service. The service was established by an Act of Congress on August 4, 1790, as a part of the Department of Treasury.  The establishment of the service had been suggested by the Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton. In the days before a national income tax, with a new formed nation trying to pay off debts from the Revolutionary War and establish an effective central government, a reliable source of revenue was extremely important. The primary source for this Federal revenue stream was via customs duties and import tariffs. Due to these imposed costs on imported goods, many “entrepreneurs” of the era preferred to smuggle in their imported goods rather than pay the tariffs. It was the job of the new established Revenue Marine to interdict these smugglers and “to seize vessels and goods in the cases in which they are liable to seizure for breaches of the Revenue laws.” The force as initially authorized consisted of ten “cutters” which were to be crewed by a Master, three Mates, and four Mariners, for a total of eight men per boat. The fact that the ships were known as “Revenue Cutters” resulted in the Revenue Marine service often being referred to as the “Revenue Cutter” service, with the terms often being used interchangeably. In 1794 a new and very important authority was granted to the Revenue Marine, the enforcement of the Slave Trade Act of 1794. This new law which prohibited the importation of slaves into the United States relied in part upon the Revenue Marine for its enforcement and to interdict potential slavers in American waters. As the US Navy had been disbanded at the conclusion of the American Revolution and would not be reestablished until 1798, the Revenue Cutter Service formed the only real method the fledgling United States had to enforce this new ban on the slave trade in American waters.

During the Quasi-War with France from 1798-1801 the US Navy was reestablished, and the Revenue Cutter Service worked with the Navy and was involved in the capture of some twenty French ships, both with and without US Naval assistance. During the War of 1812, the Revenue Cutter Service was temporarily placed under the Navy’s authority. During the war the Cutter Service was involved in a number of actions against the British and captured the first British ship of the war. This system of placing the Revenue Cutter Service under temporary US Naval Authority during a time of war would continue through the 19^th century, with the service providing support to the Navy during the Mexican American War, the American Civil War and the Spanish-American War. During times of peace, the service continued with its primary mission of customs enforcement and often served in a secondary roll combating pirates during the first half of the 19^th century. In the post-Civil War period, the service was organized as a part of the newly established Revenue Marine Bureau, that not only included the Revenue Cutter Service, but also the Steamboat Inspection Service, the Marine Hospital Service and the United States Life Saving Service. The overarching goals of this entire organization foreshadowed the multifaceted tasks of the modern United States Coast Guard. On July 31, 1894, the Revenue Marine was officially renamed the Revenue Cutter. Some twenty years later, the Revenue Cutter Service and the United States Life Saving Service were merged by an Act of Congress to create the United States Coast Guard.

Offered here is a FINE condition example of a very rare United States Revenue Cutter Service Delivered Smith & Wesson New Model No. 3 Revolver in .44 Russian. The revolver is serial number 26143 and is listed on page 189 of Neal & Jink’s book as one of the 63 guns shipped to the US Government on June 27, 1890. It is listed in a small block of guns numbered from 26,139 to 26,146. The gun is also accompanied by a Smith & Wesson Factory Letter signed by Roy Jinks confirming that it was shipped to the Revenue Cutter Service at the US Armory at Springfield, MA. The letter also confirms the revolver’s configuration was blued with a 6” barrel and checkered black hard rubber grips. The revolver is unmarked externally with the exception of the serial number on the butt and the two-line address and patent date information rolled on the top of the barrel rib. It reads:

SMITH & WESSON SPRINGFIELD MASS. U.S.A. PAT’D JAN 17 & 24. 65. 

JULY  11  65   AUG  24  69   JULY  25  71  DEC.  2.  79.  MAY  11 & 25  1880

The two-line mark is started with a Maltese cross, but one does not appear at the end. Matching serial numbers appear on the butt, rear face of the cylinder, and under the frame latch. The serial number on the butt is followed by a * (star), indicating a factory refinish and the gun is dated 8.12 on the left side of the frame, under the grips, indicating the gun was refinished at the factory in August of 1912. At least one other Revenue Cutter Service revolver is known with the same factory refinishing mark, suggesting that there may have been one cutter commander who wanted to keep his guns in tip top condition.

As noted, the gun remains in about FINE condition and retains much of the factory reapplied blue finish. The gun rates a strong 50%+ in terms of remaining finish, with about 50%+ on the barrel, 70%+ on the frame and 10%+ on the cylinder. The largest areas of wear and loss are on the cylinder, which is mostly plum and retains only some traces of bright blue in protected areas, the backstrap and grip strap, which retain less blue than the balance of the frame, and holster wear along the sides of the barrel near the muzzle. In all cases the blued has thinned and worn from carry and use with the blue on the barrel mostly worn from the sides and remaining brightest in the protected areas around the barrel rib and on the bottom of the barrel. In all cases, the areas where the blue has thinned and worn has a lightly oxidized dull grayish-brown patina has developed with some minor oxidized mottling. The metal is almost entirely smooth with some scattered light surface oxidation shot through the remaining blue and some freckled minor surface roughness here and there. The color casehardened hammer retains about 50% of its dulling mottled colors with the balance dulling to silvery gray. The triggerguard is mostly a mottled and lightly oxidized brownish blue-gray patina which hints the original case colors, and the trigger retains only traces of color and has a mostly plum patina. The revolver is mechanically fine, and it times, indexes and locks up tightly. The rebounding hammer operates correctly as well. The top break action and extractor also operate crisply and correctly. The bore of the revolver rates about VERY GOOD+ and is mostly bright with fine, crisp rifling. The bore shows a moderate amount of scattered oxidation, and some light scattered pitting along with some frosting in the grooves. There is also a ding in the crown of the muzzle on the right side of the barrel. The revolver is equipped with the standard factory fixed sights and the rear notch and pinned front blade remain in place. The grips rate about GOOD+ to NEAR VERY GOOD. The grips are unmarked on their interiors but fit the revolver well and their overall appearance matches the look of the gun well. The grips present well on the exterior and are fairly crisp with good checkering and clear S&W Logos. The exteriors of the grips show moderate wear with scattered minor bumps and dings and some minor flattening to the checkering. The left grip has been broken and well repaired with the repair somewhat unattractive on the interior, but fairly good on the exterior and not objectionable from an aesthetic perspective. However, a couple of the cracks are visible on the exterior of the grip panel and some loss to the checkering and minor devoting is visible above the diamond shaped escutcheon and below the S&W logo.

Overall, this is a really attractive and very crisp example very rare US Revenue Cutter Service Delivered Smith & Wesson New Model No. 3 Revolver. The gun is a classic example of the fully refined version of the venerable Smith & Wesson Model No 3 and was produced during the during the last decade of the 19^th century. These guns likely remained in service through the Spanish-American War with the Revenue Cutter Service. The gun is well marked, fully functional and is a very nice example. This is a fine piece to add to a US Coast Guard / Revenue Cutter Service Collection, a Spanish-American War collection or to a collection of US Martial Smith & Wesson Revolvers. It would also a great addition to an advanced Smith & Wesson collection as this is one of the rarest variants of the New Model No. 3 Revolver, since so few were acquired by the Revenue Cutter Service. I am sure you will be very pleased adding this rare gun and the accompanying documentation to your collection.

SOLD