We’ve all heard the expression, "If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck." For some professions—bomb technicians come to mind—this methodology is prudent. However, the system doesn’t usually work for museum curators. How do we really know that Baby Doe wore that dress? Can we really trust oral tradition or written notes from donors? Sometimes we even have to question the authenticity of the object itself. Skepticism is the name of the game, especially when we deal with our firearm collection.

For the past several years, Society volunteer Dennis L. Gahagen has surveyed, researched, and re-cataloged much of our gun collection. With help from Martin Everitt, he recently discovered a .44-caliber Colt Model 1860 Army revolver owned by Coloradan George Dane. This information alone makes the object unusually significant. However, Gahagen observed something even more fascinating: The gun bears serial number "2." Within the world of firearm collecting this is an incredible find. So incredible, that no one—since the day it was donated in 1933—really believed that the gun’s numerous markings were authentic.

Gahagen, with assistance from Society staff, worked for more than six months to verify the serial number and other markings on the weapon. His research culminated with a visit from Lester Quick, a nationally recognized firearms expert. After close examination, he verified that it is indeed Colt Model 1860, serial number 2.

So, it is a duck! Quick also pointed out a number of mysterious inconsistencies. We know that the gun was a prototype or "model" from the "M" stamped on the frame. We know that the gun was shipped from the factory to a gun, hardware, and military mercantile in Boston in July 1861. We know that George Dane, who rode with the First Colorado Volunteers during the Civil War, acquired the gun at some point. What we don’t know—and it may remain a mystery—is why did Colt sell a prototype weapon to a hardware store? And how did Dane end up with the weapon on the Colorado frontier? A bit more research is waiting for someone.

BY TODD TOPPER