Marlin Pistol 1873

[ldebruhl]

Hello, I have a pistol that belonged to my great-grandfather and I am hoping you can tell me the history of this gun. I know he was in the military. (Cavalry) I can send you a picture of it too. I found the words J M Marlin New Haven CT PAT July 1873 on the side of barrel and XX Standard 1873 on the top of barrel. It also has tooling on the sides and on barrel. dark wood grip. Thank You. Lisa

[Regnier (gunrunner)]

Lisa;

The Marlin XX Standard of 1873 was made from 1873 to 1887. It is a .22 caliber long (not long rifle).
The "tooling" you describe may be factory engraving that will enhance the collector value of your XX Standard. The dark wood grips will be rosewood. The standard finish on the XX Standard was full nickel, but some will be found with a silver plated frame and blued barrel and cylinder. Other finishes were offered at additional cost, such as full gold plating or silver plating. Grips of ivory and mother of pearl were also offered at additional cost.
If you have other questions, please feel free to ask...........in the mean time, I hope this helps.