Muzelloader pistol

eak_b18c1 · April 27, 2010, 07:58 PM

I'm new to antique pistols. I just want some information & est. values on 3 old hand guns I recived after my Grandfather died.

The third is an old muzel loading precusion cap. There are no markings any where except under the wooden grips 810 is stamped in the frame. Sorry there is no more info to go off of. Thanks.

James K · April 29, 2010, 10:35 PM

It is of the general type of pistol made by Allen & Thurber among many others. But unless you have evidence of its age, it might not be an antique at all, since reproductions of similar guns have been sold for many years both as complete guns and as kits.

One reason I consider the latter a possibility is that most of the old makers marked their guns, and a gun with no name is uncommon (though not unknown). The second is the presence of a serial number. It could be a batch number but in either case a maker who turned out 800 guns in the old days would likely have marked them with his name.

But when the replicas were imported (most were made in Spain), US customs required that they have a serial number even though they were not cartridge guns. The result was that the makers put on a meaningless number to comply with a pointless regulation. So, unless I have other reasons to believe the gun is old, to me a gun with a number and no other markings strongly suggests a relatively recent (post WWII) import.

Jim

April 29, 2010, 10:35 PM	#2
James K Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 24,383	It is of the general type of pistol made by Allen & Thurber among many others. But unless you have evidence of its age, it might not be an antique at all, since reproductions of similar guns have been sold for many years both as complete guns and as kits. One reason I consider the latter a possibility is that most of the old makers marked their guns, and a gun with no name is uncommon (though not unknown). The second is the presence of a serial number. It could be a batch number but in either case a maker who turned out 800 guns in the old days would likely have marked them with his name. But when the replicas were imported (most were made in Spain), US customs required that they have a serial number even though they were not cartridge guns. The result was that the makers put on a meaningless number to comply with a pointless regulation. So, unless I have other reasons to believe the gun is old, to me a gun with a number and no other markings strongly suggests a relatively recent (post WWII) import. Jim