Welcome to today’s program photo of the Day! Here we have something that most people don’t imagine when they hear “Old West Colt.” It’s a Colt Model 1878, a side-by-side hammer shotgun, and yes, the same Hartford company famous for the Peacemaker also spent nearly a decade making high-end double guns.
The Model 1878 ran from 1878 to 1889 and topped Colt’s list as the most expensive thing they ever made. This Colt was going straight to the premium Parker crowd: a Damascus barrel, a casehardened receiver covered in scrollwork, and almost any grade or option you wanted by special order. About 22,000 were manufactured, which were sold through the large arms wholesalers of the time. This is a Grade 6, a high grade gun that is shipped through Hartley & Graham in New York.
Here is the irony. There was a tacit understanding between Colt and Winchester that each would stay out of the other’s lane, the Colt with handguns and the Winchester with repeaters, so the Colt shotgun was a side venture to begin with. And in the end the 1878 lost not to Parker but to cheaper competition. Buyers continued to choose Colt’s low price over quality, and by 1889 Colt went out of the shotgun business forever.
Most of our POTDs use images of our friends Rock Island Auction CompanyMajor firearms auction in the United States. Take some time to browse them current auction – Who knows, maybe you’ll find a piece of history to take home!
“Factory Engraved Colt Model 1878 Grade 6 Double Barrel Shotgun with Factory Letters.” Rock Island Auction, www.rockislandauction.com/detail/5032/487/factory-engraved-colt-1878-grade-6-shotgun-with-factory-letter. Accessed 3 July 2026.
