The 3rd Generation Colt Blackpowder Arms Signature Series
At the end of the Colt contract with Lou Imperato to assemble the 2nd Generation Colts, Lou Imperato was already working on a new contract with Colt to produce a 3rd Generation Series. It seems Lou Imperato considered the possibility of having Uberti make the completely finished revolvers. So a series of sixteen revolvers of different models were made by Uberti for Imperato with all the necessary Colt markings. Each revolver carried a license "permission" letter from Colt to indicate that Colt Manufacturing had given their permission for these revolvers to carry the Colt markings via a special license agreement. The finish was a Royal Charcoal Blue over highly polished metal. These do, however, have the Uberti name under the loading lever. Colt could not accept this and then rejected Mr. Imperato's proposal. The approval letters are dated Jan.15, 1990 based on a contract between Iver Johnson, then owned by Imperato, and Colt dated July, 1985. These sixteen revolvers are highly collectable today.
It wasn't until 1993 that Lou Imperato formed the Colt Blackpowder Arms Company to create what became the 3rd Generation Series. Known as the “Signature” Series, the 3rd Generation Series was under a "licensing" agreement with Colt Manufacturing, but had no connection to Colt at all, except for the use of Colt's licensed name. Under this “licensing” agreement, Imperato at his Iver Johnson factory where the 2nd Generation "F" Series were produced, was responsible for procurement of all parts, which came from Uberti and later from Armi San Marco, as we have found out, in Italy. These revolvers were marketed by John J. Jovino and Co. of New York (owned by Lou Imperato), but Iver Johnson was also responsible for quality control, final inspection, marketing, advertising, sales and distribution of the revolvers. This was a totally different agreement than either Forgett or Imperato had for the “C” Series or the “F” Series and these “3rd Generation” revolvers were never affiliated with Colt Manufacturing and Colt Manufacturing will not recognize them nor letter these revolvers except on very, very rare occasions. Colt will only letter those revolvers that have a complete series of manufacturing, final inspection, and quality control records that satisfy the Colt requirements for lettered revolvers. These records are available for very, very few 3rd Generation revolvers.
This statement is supported by an article published in the November 1994 issue of "Gun Tests" magazine. It revealed that "Colt's Manufacturing Co., apparently concerned that its customers might be confused by similar names, says it has nothing to do with black powder guns being sold under the 'Authentic Colt Black Powder Signature Series' name." They went on to quote Jeff Crute, Colt's Vice President of Sales and Marketing. He is reported as stating "The guns are manufactured and marketed by John J. Jovino and Co. of New York via Iver Johnson (owned by Lou Imperato) and bear only the Colt name. The (revolvers) are being produced and sold through a special licensing agreement which was negotiated prior to the current management ( in 1994). CMCI (Colt's Manufacturing Co., Inc.) assumes no responsibility for product quality, workmanship or liability."
An interesting side story to this 3rd Generation Series is that Lou Imperato left Armi San Marco holding the bag on a bunch of parts ordered by Colt Blackpowder Arms when Colt Blackpowder Arms went out of business in 2002. Most were barrels that had been marked with the Colt Address by ASM since these parts were completely finished parts for the revolvers assembled at Colt Blackpowder Arms. Rather than eat these barrels, ASM put them on their own revolvers that they were exporting to the U.S. So one had a well finished Armi San Marco revolver with the official Colt address on the barrel and "San Marco" on the frame where the "Colt Patent" usually is found. These are extremely collectable and are already bringing some high dollars from replica revolver collectors. Eventually, U.S. Customs put a stop to these imports when Colt filed a complaint, but prior to the filing of the complaint by Colt, some revolvers got through customs, but the number of revolvers that arrived in the U.S. is not known.
It is these 3rd Generation Signature Series revolvers, made between 1993 and 2002, that has created most of the confusion as to whether or not these “Signature Series” of revolvers were Italian made or Colt made. Yes, the 3rd Generation Series parts were completely Italian made and then assembled at the Iver Johnson factory by Colt Blackpowder Arms Company of Brooklyn NY.
Most Colt collector’s accept the 2nd Gen revolvers as real Colt's and consider these very collectable. A number of collectors, however, do not accept the 3rd Generation revolvers as Colts and thus the difference in value. The demand for 2nd Generation "C" Series and "F" Series revolvers is by both Colt collectors and replica percussion revolver collectors, whereas, the demand for 3rd Generation revolvers is by the replica percussion revolver collectors and generally ignored by Colt collectors. I might add the demand for these Colts by shooters also play a big part. Since these 2nd & 3rd Generation revolvers are modern production, many of them are still available in “New In Box” condition. These are the ones wanted by collectors. Fired revolvers will usually be be discounted by 50%.
Reference:
~the notes of Dr. James Davis
Russell, Dennis. “Yes - They Are Real Colt's.” Percussion Colt Revolvers The Second Generation Collector's Handbook & Price Guide #6, by Dennis Russell, Jared Press, 2013, pp. 12–14.)
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