A couple of antique muzzleloading pocket pistols

[JEEP]

I just wanted to show these off:





A couple of antique (early to mid 19. c.) muzzleloading pocket pistols with percussion locks.

The larger top one is fitted with a sidelock and the smaller bottom one has a boxloch and a unscrewable barrel. Both pistols are i fairly good condition - though far from perfect.

Pistols like these were produced all over Europe (and some in the States), but mostly in Belgium and Britain. They were typical small consealable self-defence weapons in a troubled period.

The larger one has no markings, except from the letters "K S" inlaid with gold or brass behind the muzzle:





The smaller one is marked with "LEG" making it a genuine Belgian Liegi pistol - one of the largest producers of this type of firearm.


Being a black-powder shooter (I reenact both late 14. c. European military culture and early 19. c. American trapper/mountainman culture) I am planing to buy a Davide Pedersoli Liegi Derringer in order to try the handeling and accuracy of such a small weapon.



/Jakob

[Marc]

Nice guns there buddy!

I wonder (from a "reproducer's" point of view) however... they look fairly simple (no pun intended)... If one... well... say... if one had acces to a cnc mill ect. ect.... Wouldn't be THAT hard to make a "working replica", would it?

Regards,

Marc

[GCR]

That's a really beautiful pair of firearms you have there, JEEP!

I'm a real sucker for antique weapons, though I must confess, I don't know much about the real old ones. My real "expertise" (if you could call it that) is in the more modern firearms (specifically military weapons from the 1st and 2nd World Wars). Still, as a firearms enthusiast through and through, I can always appreciate fine weaponry (and a tangible piece of history) when I see it.


-GCR

[JEEP]

Thanks!

Marc: Indeed it would be simple (and quite illegal in Denmark) to copy them - but having it proofed and tested for blackpowder is another case. The most dangerous weapon (for the wielder) is always a homemade one

GCR: I have always been quite the gun-nut, both modern and antique guns. I have a S&W K22 that I use for target shooting.


/Jakob

[agent5]

Nice. When did you get these, Jakob?

[JEEP]

The smaller one about a week ago - and the larger one a few days ago.

I found them at an online auction site.


/Jakob

[JEEP]

Just got a third one:








A rather large doublebarelled pocket percussion pistol with a double boxlock and double triggers. This one is mecanically fully functional and the overall condition is, the age taken into consideration, wery good. Both the underside of the box and the barrels are stamped with an eagle, the letters "SP" and two crude crosses. The lanyard ring suggests that it has been used for military purpores (it was quite common for officers to purchase small pistols like this one privately and carry it in the field as a back-up.


Regards.

Jakob

[agent5]

Nice. What do these go for?

[JEEP]

Around $ 80 - 500+

The price depends heavily on the overall condition, mechanical condition, manufacturer (if the manufacturer can be identified it can mean quite a lot for the price) and the history of the weapon.

I have seen quite common Liegi derringers, in extreamly poor condition go for $ 800+ because it could somehow be linked with a historical event or person. And, I have seen the same type of pistol, in perfect+ condition (complete with original box and acessories) go for around $ 300.
On evil-bay you often see these small arms being sold as being found in famous historical buliding, at historical battlefields or having "possibly" belonged to this or that historical person or family. A good example is this sentence; "Similar to the the gun that was used to assasinate President Lincoln" - my guess is that around 10-20% of all pocket pistols sold on e-Bay bears that description. Just like every broad-brimmed hat is an Indiana Jones styled hat.


/Jakob

[Rock Ford]

Very cool, I see quite a few of those type of pocket pistols when I do American Civil War reenactments. My dad's got a couple like the small one in the first picture, and something like the double barrel one also. My dads got a little goofy website check it out www.madjacksattic.com. He is known in the Midwest as Mad Jack O'leary.

[JEEP]

Thanks

I have actually been thinking about taking up American Civil War re-enactment (believe it or not - it's quite big here in Denmark) - but so far I have settled with late 15. c. Europe and early 19. c. American trapper/mountainman culture.

Your dad seems to be a colourful person (in a god way) - I know his' type from the danish Medieval re-enactment scene, they are the kind of people who makes going to fairs just a little more fun for everyone


Regards.

Jakob

[raider57]

Hey Jeep,I always thought these type pistols quite interesting since I first saw some in a Museum in the UK some years ago.
www.dave-cushman.net/shot/ducksfoot.html

[JEEP]

The duck's foot is an interesting gun with a dark history.

It was invented to be used by officers - against uprisings - on naval ships. But, is was actually mainly used for the same purpose on slave ships.


/Jakob