A man named Christian Sharps (1811 - 1874) got his start in the gun making business by working at the Harpers Ferry Arsenal. The first Sharps firearm was patented in 1848, and by 1850, the first models of Sharps Sporting Rifles were being made in Mill Creek, Pennsylvania by the firm of A. S. Nippes. In 1851, a new breechloader was being made in Windsor, Vermont by the firm of Robbins & Lawrence. Rifle production continued in Vermont while a new Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company was formed in Hartford, Connecticut. In 1855, manufacturing was moved to Hartford and continued until 1876. Operations were then moved to Bridgeport, Connecticut until 1880.
Although the Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company bore his name, Christian Sharps was not the principal owner. In 1854 he began his own C. Sharps & Company to make his own handguns. He formed a partnership with a man named William Hankins in 1862, known as Sharps & Hankins. That company manufactured four-barrel pepperboxes and single-shot breech loading rifles and carbines. That partnership ended in 1866. Christain C. Sharps & Company ceased operations with Sharps' death in 1874. Sharps reproductions are now made by the Shilo Rifle Manufacturing Company in Big Timber, Montana.
The information below concentrates on the longarms made by the Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company and its predecessors.
Here is a listing of Sharps firearms and their approximate dates of manufacture:
Sharps Models, Dates, Calibers
Production
Begins Production
Ends Model Caliber
1849 1850 Model 1949 Rifle
0.44
1850 1850 Model 1850 Rifle
0.44
1852 1855 Model 1851 Carbine
.36, .44, .52
1853 1855 Model 1852 Rifle
0.52
1853 1855 Model 1852 Carbine
0.52
1853 1855 Model 1852 Shotgun
Various
1854 1857 Model 1853 Carbine
Various
1856 1857 Model 1855 0.52
1856 1857 Model 1855 U.S.
Navy Rifle 0.52
1855 1857 Model 1855 British
Carbine 0.52
1859 1866 Model 1859 Carbine
0.52
1859 1866 Model 1863 Carbine
0.52
1859 1866 Model 1865 Carbine
0.52
1859 1866 Model 1859 Rifle
0.52
1869 1871 Model 1869 Carbine
0.52
1869 1871 Model 1869 Military
Rifle 0.52
1869 1871 Model 1869 Sporting
Rifle .44-70, .50-70
1871 1881 Model 1874
Various
1877 1878 Model 1877 0.45
1878 1881 Model 1878 Various
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The use of Roman Numerals (C=100, L=50) were used with these Sharps firearms, and serial numbers overlapped between some models. Here is a list of serial numbers ranges and their respective models:
Sharps Serial Numbers &
Models Serial Number
Start Serial Number
End Model
1 1050 Model 1851 Carbine
2041 7050 Model 1852 Carbine
8000 26000 Model 1853 Carbine
17000 25000 Model 1855 Carbine
30000 80000 Model 1859 Carbine
71235 C49528 Model 1863 Carbine
C40000 C50000 Model 1865 Carbine
39000 CL625 Model 1869
C50000 163000 Model 1874
160000 161000 Model 1877
1 23000 Model 1878
Since Christian Sharps is so well known for the superb longarms that bear his name, few people are aware that he also secured a U.S. Patent in 1862 for improvements to the pinfire cartridge. These improvements thickened the base of the cartridge to help it hold its shape after firing, so that it would not interfere with the proper rotation of a revolver cylinder. Ethan Allen later manufactured improved pinfire cartridges by licensing Sharp's Patent.
Please use this information
as a general guideline only. It is a compiled from various public domain
sources and contributions from a variety of individuals and may not be
accurate in all respects.