Chapter 2 – Facts and Figures

2.3 Factory Markings and Dealer Stamps

2.3 2.3.1 2.3.1.1 2.3.1.2 2.3.1.3 2.3.1.4 2.3.1.5 2.3.2 2.3.3 2.3.3.1 2.3.3.2 2.3.3.3 2.3.4 2.3.5 2.3.5.1 2.3.5.2 2.3.6 2.3.6.1 3.3.7 3.3.8

Factory Markings and Naval Scenes on Cylinders Centaure Top of the Barrel Markings – Regular Production No Top of the Barrel Marking „1960 NEW MODEL ARMY“ CENTENNIAL TRADE MARK“1960 NEW MODEL ARMY” “1960 NEW MODEL ARMY” CENTENNIAL  TRADE MARK CHIGAGO U.S.A. “1960 NEW MODEL ARMY” CENTENNIAL TRADE MARK BLACK POWDER ONLY The Centaur Logo – Rampant, Walking or Nothing at All No Logo Rampant Centaur Logo Walking Centaur Logo Country of Origin Mark Naval Engagement Scenes on the Cylinders Centaure Proprietary Naval Scene Colt/Ormsby-Style Naval Scene Importers, Distributors and Dealers European Business Partners Thoughts about Availability Myth Buster – Distrubution of Centaures in the U.S.A. and Europe

2.3.1

Centaure Top of the Barrel Markings – Regular Production

Between the start of the Centaure production sometime in the fall of 1959 and its end during the early summer in 1973 five (5) versions of barrel marking are recorded. Namely, no barrel marking at all and four (4) different roll-engraved model markings on top of the barrel. Details are explained below.

2.3.1.1

No Top of the Barrel Marking

No top of the barrel marking is a rare feature of a few Regular New Model Armies (RNMAs) found interspersed in the making in the years 1959, 1961 and 1964. Reasons suggested are specially ordered pistols by Mars Equipment (the importer of replicas of the Shore Galleries Group) for Centennial Arms Corporation (the distributor or wholesaler as well as main dealer of replicas for the Shore Galleries Group) in the U.S.A. for projects such as external embellishments or colterizations etc. The human factor is a further possibility to be considered.

Between 1967 and 1970 dealers and engravers could special order RNMAs 5th variation 1st sub-variation for external embellishments projects etc. without any (!) factory marks and markings.

2.3_1 RNMA 5th variation 1st sub-variation #6748 from 1967 without barrel marking and logo

Marshal Models and factory engraved New Model Armies (NMAs) were made between 1971 and the end of the production 1n 1973. These variants have no top of the barrel marking.

2.3_2 Marshal 1st variation 2nd sub-variation #12142 from 1972 without barrel marking

2.3_3 Factory engraved RNMA 5th variation 2nd sub-variation #11903 from 1971 without barrel marking

2.3.1.2

„1960 NEW MODEL ARMY“

This is the top of the barrel marking for the periods listed below. All RNMAs, Civilians, Cavalries and Pocket Armies produced during these years were roll-engraved with this marking except for the RNMAs specifically listed under 2.3.1.1.

Period	RNMAs	Civilians	Cavalries	Pocket Armies
1959	
1960			
1961			
1962			
1972	
1973	

2.3_4 Typical period barrel marking like on RNMA 1st variation 1st sub-variation #M4 of 1959

As mentioned elsewhere on this website, Centennial Arms Corporation of Lincolnwood, IL. was the company that kicked-off the Centaure production for the U.S. market at Belgium’s Fabriques d‘Armes Unies de Liège (F.A.U.L.) in 1959. This had some impact on the hype a few years later of our favorite Belgian made Colt 1860 Army pattern percussion revolvers.

Centennial Arms Corp. was the distributor and main dealer of the Centaures in the U.S.A. until they withdraw from the Centaure business eventually in late 1972 or early 1973. Therefore, at their request,CENTENNIAL TRADE MARK was added to top of the barrel marking “1960 NEW MODEL ARMY of the Centaures from some day in 1961 (the exact date cannot be pinpointed today) no matter where on the globe the revolvers were eventually sold.

During the last months of the Centaure production in 1973 the top of the barrel marking was “1960 NEW MODEL ARMY again.

This is how the top of the barrel marking would read:

CENTENNIAL TRADE MARK“1960 NEW MODEL ARMY”

“1960 NEW MODEL ARMY”CENTENNIAL TRADE MARK CHIGAGO U.S.A

“1960 NEW MODEL ARMY”CENTENNIAL TRADE MARK

2.3.1.3

CENTENNIAL TRADE MARK“1960 NEW MODEL ARMY”

This is the version of top of the barrel marking applied for the longest period of time, see years listed below. RNMAs, Civilians and Cavalries produced during the period were roll-engraved with this marking except for the specific RNMAs listed under 2.3.1.1 above.

Period	RNMAs	Civilians	Cavalries
1961	
1963		
1964	
1965	
1966	
1970	
1971		
1972	
1973	

2.3_5 Typical barrel marking like on RNMA 1st variation 2nd sub-variation #11691 of 1971

2.3.1.4

“1960 NEW MODEL ARMY”CENTENNIAL TRADE MARK CHIGAGO U.S.A

For a few months only in 1962/63 this top of the barrel marking was in use. RNMAs, Civilians and Cavalries produced during this short period were roll-engraved with this marking except for the few RNMAs specifically listed above under 2.3.1.1.

Period	RNMAs	Civilians	Cavalries
1962	
1963			

2.3_6 Typical period barrel marking like on Civilian 2nd variation #C782 of 1963

2.3.1.5

“1960 NEW MODEL ARMY”CENTENNIAL TRADE MARK

This is the top of the barrel marking for the years listed below. All RNMAs and Cavalries produced during the period carry this marking except for the specific RNMAs listed under 2.3.1.1 above.

Period	RNMAs	Cavalries
1963		
1965	
1966	
1967	
1968	
1969	
1970	

2.3_7 Typical barrel marking like on RNMA 3rd variation 2nd sub-variation #4331 of 1965

2.3.2

BLACK POWDER ONLY

No Centaure has surfaced with such a mark. This is in contrast to most Italian replicas

2.3.3

The Centaur Logo – Rampant, Walking or Nothing at All

The vast majority of all Centaure models from around the fall of 1960 until the end of production in 1973 feature a logo. It was stamped on the forward left side of the frame. Centaures with logo were marked either with a rampant (early production) or a walking (mid-term and late production) logo.

2.3.3.1

No Logo

A number of Centaures are recorded with no logo at all.

Regular New Model Armies (RNMAs) beginning with the first ones manufactured in 1959, i.e. #M1 until #1141 (currently highest such serial number in the survey, assumed to be sometime in 1961) were not stamped with a centaur logo.

2.3_8 No logo on RNMA 1st variation 1st sub-variation #480 from 1960

Ca. 60+ RNMAs 5th variations 1st sub-variations were deliberately manufactured without any factory markings and no logo between 1967 and 1970. These RNMAs were special ordered for external embellishment projects, see also above under 2.3.1.1.

Very few regular production RNMAs of later production without a logo are recorded. They are an extremely rare find. We believe they just slipped the F.A.U.L. quality control.

None of the Civilian Models 1st variations are stamped with a logo. This variant is serial numbered between #C1 and #C441 (highest serial number currently recorded from around fall of 1960). The exception of this rule is #C545 without logo but all features of a Civilian Model 2nd variation!

2.8_9 No logo on the frame of Civilian 1st variation #C418 from 1960

Likewise, none of the factory engraved Marshals (only recorded in De Luxe style) and RNMAs (De Luxe, Super De Luxe and Presentation style) were stamped with a logo.