Sharp’s Mitchell Rifle with Original Saber Bayonet / SOLD

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SKU: RIF 281 Category:

Description

Sharp’s Mitchell Rifle with Original Saber Bayonet 

 

This scarce Sharps U.S. Navy Mitchell contract New Model 1859 rifle and rates Excellent for condition. The Navy had supplemented its 200 Model 1855 Sharps rifles by ordering 900 .56 caliber NM1859 rifles in September 1859 and took delivery from November 1860 through April 1861. On June 4, 1861, they ordered an additional 1,500 rifles through John J. Mitchell, a Sharps sales agent in Washington. One hundred-fifty were to be delivered to each of the navy facilities in Boston, New York and Philadelphia within six days and the remaining 350 to each by June 25. These rifles were in the more standard .52 caliber, which was a bit of a headache for navy supply, and did not come with their saber bayonets, which the Navy had to acquire directly from Ames, but were delivered very quickly. The bulk of them were in Navy hands by the end of July (New York had all 500 by August 7) and they are known to have been wide service, being issued to the sloop Iroquois, the St. Lawrence in the Mississippi fleet, to the USS Pensacola, and also to the USS Kearsarge of Kearsarge/Alabama fame. 

 

Serial numbers for these rifles fall between 39436 and 42500. This one follows the standard configuration with stud and guide for the saber bayonet, iron patch box, pellet primer etc. All bands, springs, swivels and sights are in place. The barrel is smooth metal, blue turned plum. The barrel bands have good color as well. The barrel markings are very good and fully legible: SHARPS RIFLE / MANUFG. CO / HARTFORD, CONN. crisply stamped forward of the rear sight, and NEW MODEL 1859 to its rear, with just slight rubbing. The Lawrence patent markings on the sight base are sharp. The receiver and lock show strong smokey blues. The loading channel naturally shows rubbing. The receiver has sharp markings, SHARPS PAT. / SEPT 12 1848 on the upper left, and SHARPS PAT. / OCT 5th 1852 behind the hammer and S. LAWRENCE PAT. / APRIL 12th 1859 just above on the right. The patchbox and buttplate have very good surface and color as well. Many of the screws retain significant blue. The bore and mechanics are good; bore shows strong rifling. 

 

The wood has a tight fit, good color and surface with some light handling marks. As is correct, there are no inspection cartouches, though some passing through the NY Navy Yard occasionally show a stamp on the buttstock. 

 

These are scarce guns. This one would fill out a Sharps collection or make a great addition to a display of naval small arms. See Marcot, Paxton and Marron on Sharps and McAulay on U.S. Navy small arms for details.  

 

Inventory Number: RIF 281

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A vintage black powder rifle with a long barrel and a bayonet attached, displayed on a white background.
A side view of a black and silver antique rifle with a wooden stock, lever action, and metal hardware, photographed against a white background.
Close-up of a metal surface stamped with "C. SHARPS' PAT. SEPT. 12TH 1848" next to a slotted screw.
Close-up of a firearm’s metal surface showing the engraved patent mark "C. SHARPS’ PAT. OCT. 5TH 1852." and part of the trigger mechanism.
Close-up of a metal surface engraved with the text "SHARPS RIFLE MANUFG CO HARTFORD CONN.
A vintage black rifle with a wooden stock and a bayonet attached to the end of the barrel, displayed on a white background.
A bayonet with a brass hilt and a ribbed handle, partially sheathed in a dark scabbard with brass fittings, lying on a white background.
Close-up of the stock and action of an antique black powder rifle with a metal buttplate, lever, and hammer, set against a white background.
Side view of a vintage black lever-action rifle with a metallic receiver and a partially visible wooden stock, displayed on a white background.
A vintage rifle with a brass-handled bayonet attached; the bayonet is partially sheathed in a black scabbard with a metal tip.
Antique rifle with a mounted bayonet attached underneath the barrel, featuring a lever-action mechanism and a metal finish.
A vintage black rifle with a wooden stock, three barrel bands, and a bayonet attachment near the muzzle.
Antique single-shot rifle with a dark wood stock, metal barrel, lever action, and an attached bayonet sheathed underneath the barrel.
Close-up view of a rifle barrel with an attached bayonet featuring a ribbed brass handle and locking mechanism.
Close-up of a metal surface engraved with "R.S. LAWRENCE' PAT APRIL 12TH 1859" next to a large screw.
Close-up of a rifle stock compartment with the metal cover open, revealing a cleaning rod and small storage space inside the wooden buttstock.
Close-up of a rifle stock with an open metal trapdoor compartment and a cleaning rod placed below it on a white background.
Close-up of a metal surface engraved with "SHARPS RIFLE" and additional text indicating "SHARPS CO" and "HARTFORD CONN.
Close-up view of a metal rifle rear sight with numbered distance markings from 1 to 7.
Close-up of a metal surface with the engraved number "40412" next to a flathead screw.
Close-up of a metal hinge or joint with a slotted screw, attached to a dark wooden surface, against a white background.
Close-up of a metal plate with an engraved inscription reading "C. SHARPS PAT. SEPT. 12TH 1848" next to a flathead screw and part of a wooden surface.
Close-up view of an antique lever-action rifle with a dark wooden stock and metal receiver, photographed against a white background.

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