.32 cal 5 shot Eli Whitney Patent Pistol

[jimpeel]

My father in law has had this pistol since he was a kid and he is 80 now. His father gave it to him.

It shows some abuse from dry firing and amateur gunsmithing.

Here are the features and the "features":

Hammer is damaged and burred from dry firing against the nipples;

Nipples are damaged for the above reason;

"E. Whitn..." "N. Have..." appears on the barrel ahead of the top strap;

Someone tried to drill out the screws ahead of the cylinder;

There is a "repair" on the trigger guard where they soldered a brass strap to hold it on. Apparently they lost/broke/stripped the screw which holds it on;

Barrel "rifling" is octagonal;

Rear sight is integral to the hammer;

Indexing sucks but lockup is fairly tight for a firearm of this age.

Any idea as to year, value, etc. I'm betting the answer will be "Frame it and hang it on the wall. It ain't worth spit."

Photos may be viewed HERE.

That is an invitation to my secure netdrive which will expire after 40 downloads or 30 days whichever occurs first.

 

[James K]

Actually, it doesn't look too bad and could be a candidate for restoral. The Whitney was reproduced in fair numbers and I think a trigger guard should not be too hard to find. Screws are available. The hammer looks OK.

Even with some parts, it won't be any zillion dollar collectors item, but it could be worth a few hundred more than it is now.

Jim