1844 Naval Pistol

[AMT8951]

I just came into possession of a precussion pistol, a Springfield Rifle, and some sort of naval cutlass. The weapon that I want to inquire about today is the pistol. The only markings on the weapon are on the right side of the lock, where it says "USN 1844" and " P. AMES- Springfield Mass" Is this thing real ? Is it valuable? I know a thing or two about modern weapons, but nothing about antiques. Any help would be appreciated. Sorry about the photo quality. I also don't know much about digital photograghy.

 

[mete]

I have a photo of a M 1843 service pistol that looks almost exactly the same .This one Made by Deringer , Phila. 6" barrel, .54 cal ,marked USN 1847. Why didn't you think it might be real ? That's what they had in those days.

 

[James K]

The guns are Model 1842 Navy pistols in .54 caliber. N. P. Ames, of Springfield, MA, made 2000 of them, and Henry Deringer, of Philadelphia, made 1200. They are scarce and in top condition are worth around $1700 for the Ames and $2200 for the Deringer. In the condition shown, value would around $800 if functional, less if parts are missing or broken.

They were pretty good guns and were the first U.S. martial percussion pistol produced and delivered under contract. They are often confused with the slightly later Army Model 1842, which is much more common, with 40,000 made. The Navy also bought some of the Model 1842 Army type pistols as well, made by H. Aston, and marked with an anchor. Those are scarce and bring in the $5k range in top condition.

Jim