British flintlock pistol (?)

V

VintageFan

New member
Hey all,

Came across with this flintlock pistol. Not a lot to work with. Top of barrel has London and T-Y 8597, also british proof marks. I initially thought that it is some modern stamp, but then I found Irish Arms Act of 1843 and that TY would indicaye Tyrone county. Also the highest number found from Tyrone on that survey is 12284, so that would make that ~8500 number plausible. I also found a photo of a blunderbuss that has same style/font T-Y marking. Lock has engravings but no visible makers mark. Missing some parts, top jaw, srews, trigger bar and maybe something else too. Probably those parts can be replaced.

Ima has this on their website which has similar pistol with same / same style of decoration made by John King of London. Steel barrel as this one has bronze or brass (?) barrel.

https://www.ima-usa.com/products/or...merican-revolutionary-war?variant=26170636165

Any ideas of maker or age?
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You have the rest of the lock? That one is missing the top jaw. You can't put a flint on it. Bubba has damaged all the internal lock screws too.
I don't think the lock is assembled correctly either. There are some decent pictures here.
https://science.howstuffworks.com/flintlock2.htm
As to the maker, that should be on the barrel, but it may be worn off. Or it may say "Made in India". Hard to tell. Any marks on the inside of the lock?
IMA also had a brass barreled pistol of 1800 vintage that looks very similar. Rock Island Auction has several with the 'London' marking. There's actually hordes of 'em. The barrel may have been made in London or sold by a London gun shop.
https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/51/17/bunney-london-marked-brass-barrel-flintlock-pistol
https://www.ima-usa.com/products/br...arked-thames-river-police?variant=26157073989
 
No it's missing those parts. Internals are lacking at least a sear. That's why the main spring is drooping, as there is no sear to keep pressure on tumbler which would keep pressure on main spring.. well that is what i'm guessing of it. And yes top jaw is missing and the screw to tighten them.

Haven't found anything else, only a rough looking carving what looks like V V on the butt cap. Seems nicely made and the remaining screws look old. :D

That Irish Registration Act of 1843 stamping would be odd thing to add if it was a fake, mainly because there was not lot of info on it out there. That would indicate that at least in some point this was carried or kept by someone after 1843 in northern part of Ireland (i'm not sure what the state of ireland was back then). Maybe not as an edc gun, as there was more modern and smaller ones available in mid 17th century. :D
 
There is no name of any kind anywhere on the lock??

It was very common in those days that guns were made by individual gunsmiths, using a combination of parts they bought (most often barrels and locks) and parts they made themselves.

Any combination from completely hand made on up is possible. Your barrel, with a proof marking matching something historically listed is almost certainly an original barrel so marked.

BUT, when and where it became part of the pistol you now have is anyone's guess. Pistols of that approximate look and style were produced over nearly a couple hundred year period.
 
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