Richards Conversion - 1860 Army

In 1871, an employee from Colt by the name of Charles Richards was awarded a patent for converting Colt percussion models to breech loading cartridge revolvers. The Richards cartridge conversion was an instant success. On July 2nd, 1872, William Mason, another employee from Colt, was awarded a patent for an improvement to the Richards model. As percussion parts ran short, the 1860 Richards-Mason barrel was changed from the profile of the earlier percussion model, to the sleek profile found on the 1871-72 Open Top. The 1858 New Army versatile conversion allows for easy transition from centerfire cartridges to black powder.