barrel (in an arc motif): MANHATTAN FIRE ARMS/MANUFG./CO/N.Y. Serial range about 1600+ to about 4800:
| 5C-017 | Values—Good $225 | Fine $550 |
First Model, Third Variation; as above, but having hammer spur curving gracefully to the rear and somewhat downward. Serial range about 4800 into the 7000s:
| 5C-018 | Values—Good $225 | Fine $550 |
First Model, Fourth Variation; as above, but the barrel latch no longer overlaps forward section of frame bottomstrap. Serial range from the 7000s to about 9000+:
| 5C-019 | Values—Good $225 | Fine $550 |
Second Model; flat brass frame fitted with large oval sideplate, chambered for 22 long cartridge (and thus having longer cylinder; measuring 15/16"), 7 shots, stop on frame bottomstrap, and the stop slots at front section of cylinder, roll engraved cylinder (Indian and settler motif), barrel marking on the top rib: MANHATTAN FIRE ARMS MF’G. CO NEW YORK, and 1859 patent date on bottom. Total production about 8,000:
5C-020
| 5C-020 | Values—Good $200 | Fine $475 |
Variant; believed made by Manhattan; plain, unengraved and unmarked revolver with serial number under 400. Its rarity not completely established, but a decided variation:
| 5C-021 | Values—Good $150 | Fine $350 |
American Standard Tool Co. revolver; substantially identical to the Manhattan marked type but with barrel marking: AMERICAN STANDARD TOOL CO. NEWARK, N.J.Approximately 40,000 manufactured. The standard model was plain and undecorated. Engraved specimens however are quite commonly encountered and they do bring premium values over the standard model:
| 5C-022 | Values—Good $175 | Fine $400 |
Manhattan/American Standard Hero S.S. Pistol
Manhattan Fire Arms Company and American Standard Tool Co., Newark, N.J. Hero Single Shot Pistol. Made c. 1868-73 (possibly earlier); total quantity about 30,000.
34 caliber. Round, screw off, smoothbore barrels in various lengths with 2" and 3" most commonly encountered.
Two piece varnished walnut grips, of bag shape. Blued with brass frame left bright, and casehardened hammer.
Manhattan product made without serial numbers, but numbers present on the American Standard pistols. Markings noted below.
Known as the “poor man’s deringer” the Hero pistol was believed to be Manhattan’s last percussion firearm and thought to be brought out in their last year of existence (1868). Recent evidence tends to show that date might have been earlier. The Bacon Mfg. Company (see Chapter VIII-A for history) apparently made a similar, if not identical, pistol that appeared in an advertisement by them c. 1861. Numerous unmarked Hero pistols may possibly be the product of Bacon or even Iver Johnson; values for completely unmarked specimens usually slightly less.
The American Standard Tool Co., successor of Manhattan, was set up to manufacture firearms and to make tools. It lasted only from 1868 to 1873. Pistols occasionally encountered marked only HERO without company markings are valued the same as the more common American Standard type (see also “Uncle Sam” 7C-038.5).
Hero pistol by Manhattan Fire Arms Co.; without serial numbers and with HERO/M.F.A. CO. marking; total made about 5,000:
| 5C-023 | Values—Good $250 | Fine $500 |
Hero pistol by American Standard Tool; bearing serial numbers, and marked A.S.T.Co/HERO. Barrels also made in 2-1/2" length. Total made about 25,000:
| 5C-024 | Values—Good $225 | Fine $450 |
5C-023
(*) Preceding a title indicates the book is currently in print.
Chapter V-D
Marlin (including Ballard and Marlin-Ballard)
A source of irritation and complaint for many collectors over the years has been that the arms and history of this significant American inventor and manufacturer have suffered from a lack of definitive information and a basic collecting guidebook. Surprisingly, as one of the major American gun makers, with well over a century of continuous operations and having produced a substantial quantity of longarms and handguns (in a host of variations) there were but few attempts, most of them aborted, to perform the research necessary to give collecting impetus to this field. That need was finally well met with the publication (1989) of the encyclopedic Marlin Firearms by William Brophy. Marlins have generally been collected on a piecemeal basis (i.e., handguns included in deringer or revolver collections, Ballards in single shot rifle groups, and lever action in hit-or-miss groups) rather than as complete assemblages reflecting the entire sequence. Although the “last word” on the subject will be found in the Brophy book, it is with considerable satisfaction that the author lays claim to this chapter as among the “first words” about Marlins in their entirety.
Although a prolific group of arms of very high quality, the Marlin is still very much in the “affordable” category price-wise, offering the collector, researcher and student a relatively broad potential.
A great wealth of information (but by no means near-complete) has been available for many years on the popular Marlin-Ballard single shot rifles. Marlin pistols have been relegated almost to obscurity information-wise, while their lever action rifles, a major product of the company, are long overdue for justly deserved recognition as an important segment of the American repeating arms field. One reason for the relatively obscure position of Marlins has been their inclusion in a few published works that have long since gone out of print or the rather incomplete and incoherent coverage in works that have received very limited circulation, or at best, were nothing more than a repetition of catalog descriptions and continuance of “old wives” tales having no basis in fact.
The author has departed from the more or less standard style of firearm descriptions with the Marlin lever action rifles. This was due to their prominence as well as the lack of definitive and statistical data, and since so much new information has been unearthed quite essential in assessing both rarity and value. The reader will therefore find herein the most complete material published to date on the subject of variations