Collecting the J. H. Dance Replica Revolvers

The first Dance replicas, and the gem of them all, were produced by Uberti in .36 cal. in 1985. Under contract with Tony Gajewski in 1985, owner of Southwest Muzzle Loaders Supply in Angleton, Texas, Uberti made 50 J.H. Dance & Bros. Confederate Commemorative Revolvers with only 44 revolvers being accepted for sale by Tony. They were finished with the Colt bright charcoal blue. The Texas Star appears on the cylinder inlaid in gold. All other markings on the revolvers were also gold filled. The 44 commemorative models in .36cal. came in a Walnut cased set complete with leather covered flask, mold, wrench, and cap box. The original cardboard box that they came in was a "Western Arms-Uberti" box. Each of these revolvers is certificated and is not authentic without the certificate. These have an "AR" prefix on the serial number starting with #AR001. Uberti then produced 50 "shooter" models in .36cal. These also came in "Western Arms" boxes. They have no engraving on the cylinder and are marked SMLS on the barrel. Tony Gajewski of South West Muzzleloaders Supply (no longer in business) is still considered the “Father” of the Dance replicas. Tony had one Dance .44cal. made on the Dragoon Frame with all the commemorative markings as a prototype.

The Commemorative revolvers have square back trigger guards, rather than the original oval type, and were used to readily identify the replica from an original. The six guns rejected by Tony did not have the proper markings on the barrel and were unfinished. The barrels were returned to Uberti for correction but never returned to SMLS. That left six finished frames and cylinders without barrels. No one knows where those six revolvers may be, or if they were ever released. Each of the Commemorative revolvers came in a Walnut Case with a Leather covered Flask, Bullet Mold, Nipple Wrench, and Brass Cap Box.

Probably the rarest production replica revolver ever produced is the Uberti Prototype of the Dragoon size .44cal. Dance Commemorative with all the gold fillings and inlays. This original Dance replica was rejected for production in favor of the .36 cal.

After the Commemoratives, the "Shooter Model” was introduced into production starting with serial #0001. These revolvers had plain cylinders and are marked SMLS INC “ANGLETON” TEXAS on top of the barrel. There were only 50 of the Uberti “Shooter Model” made. Uberti was furnishing certain parts to Colt at this time and could not fill any other contracts for the Dance revolver.

Beyond these first "Comemmorative" revolvers, Tony again revived the Dance revolver with a contract with Pietta in the mid 1990’s. It turns out that the Pietta .36 cal. revolvers were supposed to be marked DANCE FIREARMS CO. - ANGLETON, TEXAS, but  are actually marked DANCE FIREAMS CO. - ANGLETON, TEXAS with the "R" missing in ARMS. This run was the fewest in number at only 35 guns. These start with serial # C00001 and continue through #C00047.  There were an additional 4 guns produced that were supposed to be marked DANCE FIREARMS CO. - ANGLETON, TEXAS in .44 cal. with rebated cylinders, # C00048-C00051. And again, these are actually marked DANCE FIREAMS CO. - ANGLETON, TEXAS with the "R" missing in ARMS.   The .44 cal. revolvers were prototypes for a possible .44cal. series. These were produced in 1996.

Pietta continued shipments of the .36 cal. Dance revolver that are only marked F.LLI PIETTA “MADE IN ITALY” on right side of the barrel. These were serial #C00052-C00127.  This was about the same time that they discontinued the marking of any revolvers with anything other than their own name.  All production of the Dance revolver in .36 cal. ended with serial #C00127. This is a total production of only 75 revolvers. The only revolvers left in serial #C00052-C00127 were only available from SMLS. These now sell for over $1000+. Dr. Davis acquired one of these Pietta Dance revolvers off the internet back around 2009. It is like new condition with serial #C00096. This is the only resale he had ever seen. These were also produced in 1996.

Due to a legal action between Pietta and Southwest Muzzle Loaders Supply for breach of contract, Pietta could not resume any manufacture of the .36cal. Dance revolver. Pietta had sold twelve of the Dance Firearms Co. revolvers on the European market in violation of the contract. That is the reason for there only being thirty five of the Dance Firearms Co. revolvers in the U. S. Of these thirty five revolvers, fourteen were owned by RPRCA Ltd. in addition to the four .44cal. prototypes produced by Pietta.

Pietta later resumed production of the .44 cal. with 7 1/2" barrels and REBATED CYLINDERS with serial #C00128. This production was modified to the current STRAIGHT CYLINDERS and 8" barrel at around serial #C00233. There were only 105 Dance revolvers in .44cal. made with rebated cylinders.

The Dance revolver covered in Adler's book "Black Powder Revolvers - Reproductions & Replicas", is the current .44 cal. that was available from Dixie Gun Works and Traditions, which are made by Pietta. He does not even mention the these original Uberti or Pietta .36 cal. revolvers at all, which are the most collectable of all..

There was an Uberti Dance revolver auctioned on Gun Broker around 2010. It sold for around $325 which was a correct price since it was what Dr. Davis categorize as a “Scrap Gun” in his planned book. A “Scrap Gun” is a gun that is assembled from parts left over from special edition guns and commemoratives that a manufacturer produced. Armi San Marco produced many of these. Uberti also used left over or seconds parts to assemble the Dance that sold on Gun Broker. It's even possible that the 6 remaining .36 caliber left over parts guns may have been one of these.  These guns have a very limited interest to the collector. They are oddities but have little monetary value as compared to the a fore mention revolvers.

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~ compiled from the notes of Dr. James H Davis