Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! Here we have a Manhattan Firearms Company Navy Model Series IV, serial range 45200-69200, manufactured 1859 to 1868.
Manhattan doesn’t come up enough in gun conversation. During the 1850s and into the war years they were genuinely one of Colt’s most capable competitors, not a budget alternative, not a knockoff operation. A real manufacturer out of Newark building quality revolvers and chasing the same contracts.
The Series IV was their most developed design. Worth pointing out is the spring plate on the recoil shield, designed specifically to block spark travel between chambers and prevent chain-firing. That’s not decorative hardware. That’s an engineering solution to a real hazard.
.36 caliber, same as the Colt 1851 Navy it was competing against directly. The cylinder roll engraving is genuinely nice work, floral patterns mixed with naval and martial scenes. Manhattan’s engraving was considered by plenty of people at the time to be right on par with Colt’s.
What they couldn’t out-run was Colt’s name recognition. After the war disrupted production, Manhattan never recovered their footing. Firearms production was done by the early 1870s. Matching serial numbers on frame, cylinder, and wedge confirm proper factory assembly.
Most of our POTDs utilize images from our friends at Rock Island Auction Company, the premier firearms auction in the United States. Take some time to browse their current auctions – who knows, maybe you’ll find a piece of history to take home!
“Manhattan Firearms Co. Navy Model Series IV Percussion Revolver.” Rock Island Auction, www.rockislandauction.com/detail/5031/51/manhattan-firearms-co-navy-model-series-iv-percussion-revolver. Accessed 28 May 2026.
