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Basically, the pinfire in Europe filled the same need in about the same time frame as the rimfire in the U.S. While pinfire guns were made and used in England, rapid centerfire developments there kept them from being as popular as on the continent.
Shooters, both in the US and Britain, claimed that the pinfire was unsafe, since a round could be dropped and land on its pin, but that apparently didn't much bother people in other countries. The claim, though, was correct. I was at a gun show where someone dropped a pinfire blank. Yes, it went off and there was a loud silence for a few minutes.
I would like to see better pictures, but that gun has the look of a mature development, not some kind of early experiment. I can't find any reference to Manton making anything in pinfire, but that does not mean he didn't.
Jim
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