Musket I.D.

S

sweepklean

Inactive
Hello,

My husband and I just purchased two muskets that have been buried for many years. I need to know if anyone out there has any idea if they have any value.
I have been researching them, and believe one of them is a Grice, Brown Bess. The other I believe is a Baker. This is according to pics that I have been looking at.
Any help would be appreciated.
 

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Ma'am if you could get a few better pics of the locks from both sides and the top, there is probably somebody here who can help you identify those muskets. Please try to get about a foot of stock, either side of the locks, when you take the photos.
 
My husband and I just purchased two muskets that have been buried for many years.
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Buried in what? How many is "many" years? I'm kinda going with Gehrhard on this unless they were buried in a crate in the desert. Not likely. There's no way to know for sure without a clearer story and better closeups.
 
I purchased them from a gentleman that used a metal detector in a dried up pond. It has been really hot here in Texas, and almost all the ponds are at least partially dried up.
As far as how long they were down there, I do not know. However, along with the rifles, he found a confederate, civil war, snake head, belt buckle.
I don't know if it makes any difference, but when I bought them, I took them home and cleaned them with some oil and soft steel wool.
I am attaching more pics. These are all from the Grice. If they are not clear enough I will try to take some clearer ones.
Oh yes, if they were reproductions, would there be some way to identify them as such?
Thanks for the help.
 

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Here are a few more pics of the Baker.
 

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The wood looks amazingly well preserved.
There's always more details to be shown but the American Long Rifles forum has a lot of gun builders there that are very knowledgeable about the details of vintage guns.
It has an antique gun collecting section where the experts will comment about what they see.
I suggest to post there too and give them an opportunity to see the rifles.

However the photo attachments that are hosted here won't work there. Try hosting the photos on http://imageshack.us/ and then post the direct image codes to show the full size photos.

http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php
 
Muslet I.D.

Gentlemen,

We had an antique show in town today, and a friend of my husband's sells antique guns, and was at the show. Anyway, he inspected the weapons for us, and said that they are indeed genuine. He found two very hidden, identifying marks.
Now, assuming he is correct, and taking into account their condtion, does anyone out there have any idea of their value?
Thanks.
 
If original then many thousands of dollars. Maybe each.
Very nice, incredibly historic, pieces found and we'd love to see more full-scale pics to establish true condition.
Could they REALLY have been there since the Texas War/Mexican War? Mexico was still using these then-obsolete arms at the time! But somehow I doubt they'd ever possibly be in one piece if that is where they're from. This is odd provenance...
 
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Mud is a good preservative as long as nothing is exposed. They're not worth THAT much tho. Maybe a few hundred in the shape they're in.
 
My advice is to get them professionally appraised, sweepclean. Supica's or Cherry's would be my first stops.
 
We had an antique show in town today, and a friend of my husband's sells antique guns, and was at the show. Anyway, he inspected the weapons for us, and said that they are indeed genuine. He found two very hidden, identifying marks.
Now, assuming he is correct, and taking into account their condtion, does anyone out there have any idea of their value?
Thanks.
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Soooo, why didn't he tell you what they're worth??:confused:
 
musket I.D.

He did not tell me what they are worth, but what he wanted to pay me for them. He offered me $1000 for both. I believe they are worth more.
 
Brown Bess reproductions can go for about $600-$800, depending on the condition. The flash guard is something used by re-enactors and were not found on original guns.

Is the Baker reproduction rifled? Some are and some aren't (even though the Baker was a rifle and not a smoothbore). Can you confirm that it is a flintlock. I think it is but want to confirm that I see a frizzen on it.

What you have should command more than $1,000.
 
David Condon of Middleburg, Virginia is an appraiser and a member of many associations including the Texas Gun Collector's Association.
Perhaps he can refer you to someone in the Texas Gun Collector's Association that is closer to your home who will provide you with an honest appraisal.
And maybe there are local collectors, organizations or museums that would be interested in purchasing them more than anyone else as a matter of preserving state and local history.

See David Condon's credentials about 3/4's of the way down his home page:

http://www.davidcondon.com/

And here's the contact page of the Texas Gun Collector's Association. There's a list of the email addresses of its officers at the bottom of page to contact any one of them directly with questions about a referral.

http://www.tgca.net/contact_us.htm
 
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We had an antique show in town today, and a friend of my husband's sells antique guns, and was at the show. Anyway, he inspected the weapons for us, and said that they are indeed genuine. He found two very hidden, identifying marks. Now, assuming he is correct, and taking into account their condtion, does anyone out there have any idea of their value?
Click to expand...

He did not tell me what they are worth, but what he wanted to pay me for them. He offered me $1000 for both. I believe they are worth more.
Click to expand...

A "friend" would tell you what they are worth. Anyway, it's good advice to get them appraised professionally if they are indeed genuine. Not from folks in this forum who haven't had the opportunity to inspect them closely.
 
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