Original U.S. Civil War Allen & Wheelock .44cal Army Revolver Serial 30 Converted to Rimfire - Circa 1860

Original Item: One of a Kind. This is a very nice example of a rare rimfire conversion of the .44cal "Army" version of the "Center-Hammer" Percussion Revolvers made by Ethan Allen and his brother-in-law Thomas Wheelock in Worcester, Mass. In 1856 the two formed a partnership that lasted until Wheelock's death in 1865. The firm had successfully marketed a .44 caliber "Army" model revolver and then introduced their .36 caliber "Navy" model, both in "side hammer" and "Center Hammer" versions. The "Center-Hammer" revolvers were an improvement of the earlier "Side-Hammer" guns, which had deficiencies with ease of loading, as well as frame strength. Moving the hammer to the center allowed for a stronger frame, which is what the U.S. Army Ordnance Dept was looking for. There were cartridge revolvers at the time, but the U.S. Army was conservative, and only wanted the trusted technology of percussion revolvers. The Center-Hammer did retain one key feature from the side hammer version: the uniq