Early Ratzeburg Korth and Colt BOA: Two Different Forms of Rarity

Key Takeaways:

• Colt produced 1,200 Boa revolvers in 1985 for Lew Horton: 600 with 4-inch barrels and 600 with 6-inch barrels.
• Early Ratzeburg Korth rarity depends on the individual revolver’s date, configuration, originality, condition, and documentation, not an unverified blanket production figure.
• Auction results show that serial-number relationships, original packaging, special configurations, and condition can materially distinguish one collectible example from another.

Rarity in collectible firearms is not measured by production totals alone. Manufacturing method, configuration, condition, provenance, originality, and surviving documentation can matter as much as the number produced. Early Korth revolvers from Ratzeburg and the 1985 Colt Boa illustrate this distinction particularly well.

The Ratzeburg Korth

Willi Korth founded his company in 1954. After initially manufacturing alarm revolvers, he began producing conventional sporting revolvers in Ratzeburg in 1964. Contemporary and later specialist accounts consistently describe limited production requiring extensive skilled labor.[1]

Korth’s reputation rests on construction as much as scarcity. A 2003 Gun Digest examination reported that the company individually hand-finished its revolver components. At that time, approximately 70 percent of manufacturing operations, including component shaping, fitting, inspection, and final assembly, were performed manually.[1] Korth’s current manufacturer likewise identifies traditional craftsmanship and extensive handwork as defining elements of the marque.[2]

“Early Ratzeburg Korth” is not a single, uniform model designation. The factory produced different chamberings, barrel lengths, sighting arrangements, and sporting configurations. Gun Digest, for example, documents five-shot .38 Special and .357 Magnum revolvers made from 1966 through 1968, alongside later six-shot Combat, Sport, and Target configurations.[1] Consequently, the scarcity of an individual Korth must be evaluated by its serial and proof markings, mechanical configuration, finish, accessories, condition, and supporting records.

The evidence does not support applying one sweeping annual-production figure to every early Korth revolver. Certain variations, however, were unquestionably made in very small numbers. In June 2023, Hermann Historica sold a Korth experimental revolver with a triple-locking cylinder for €16,250. The auction house reported that only 25 examples of that test configuration were produced.[3] That result demonstrates how an independently documented variation can command substantially different attention from an otherwise standard example.

The Colt Boa

The Boa’s rarity is more straightforward. Colt manufactured 1,200 examples in 1985 for Lew Horton Distributing Company: 600 with 4-inch barrels and 600 with 6-inch barrels. The revolver was not included in Colt’s regular catalog or price sheets.[4]

A period review by Jim Weller described the Boa as a six-shot, double-action .357 Magnum conceived to occupy the space between the Trooper Mark V and the Python. It combined the Trooper Mark V frame and action with a Python-style ventilated-rib, full-underlug barrel and Colt’s Royal Blue finish.[5] It was therefore a purpose-built limited edition assembled within Colt’s established production system, not a continuation of the Python’s internal mechanism.

Boa serial numbers ran from BOA001 through BOA1200. Four-inch revolvers received odd serial numbers, while six-inch guns received even numbers. Lew Horton packaged the first 200 revolvers as 100 consecutively numbered presentation pairs, each containing one barrel length.[6] Original pairs with their presentation cases occupy a distinct position within the already limited Boa population.

Documented auction results show the importance of configuration and completeness. Rock Island Auction Company recorded $26,438 for a boxed individual Boa in December 2025, $49,938 for a consecutive pair in May 2025, and $52,875 for an original-style consecutive pair with boxes in December 2024.[6] These results are records of particular sales, not universal appraisals; condition, packaging, serialization, and competition among bidders materially affect auction prices.

Comparing the Two

The Boa is scarce because Colt created a defined edition with a known production ceiling. Its collector identity is unusually coherent: one year, one distributor, one chambering, two barrel lengths, and a documented serial range. Original cased pairs provide a still narrower collecting category.

A Ratzeburg Korth derives its significance from a different combination of qualities. Limited production is part of the equation, but extensive hand-finishing, mechanical variation, special configurations, and the firearm’s position within Willi Korth’s original manufacturing period are equally important. Two superficially similar examples may differ meaningfully in date, specification, originality, and documentation.

The distinction should not be reduced to the claim that one revolver is categorically “better” or more collectible. The Boa is a documented limited-production Colt with a strong connection to the company’s Python-era design language. An early Ratzeburg Korth represents low-volume German precision manufacture in which skilled fitting and configuration-level differences can be central to the specimen’s identity.

For collectors, the practical conclusion is clear. A Boa can be assessed against a well-defined production history, with particular emphasis on barrel length, serial number, box, condition, and presentation-pair status. An early Korth requires more individualized examination. Its value and rarity should be established from the specific firearm and its records, not from mythology, generalized production claims, or the Korth name alone.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

1. Raymond Caranta, “Korth Workmanship Supreme,” Gun Digest, 57th Edition, 2003, pp. 164–167.
2. Korth, “About Us,” manufacturer history and production overview.
3. Hermann Historica, “Auction 97 Results: Fine Antique and Modern Firearms,” 2023, pp. 1–2.
4. American Rifleman, “Colt’s Snake Guns,” 2015.
5. Jim Weller, “Boa: The Newest Snake from Colt,” American Handgunner, January/February 1986, pp. 32–33.
6. Joe Engesser, “The Colt Boa Revolver,” Rock Island Auction Company, May 14, 2026.