Antique(?) Firearms - 1 Musket, 2 Flintlock Pistols and 1 Shotgun

[Ferftunk]

I have 4 guns that i believe my grandfather had picked up over the years and came into my possesion within the past several years. I am expecting a baby in a few months as well as moving a few states away. I am considering seeing what they may be worth as money may be an issue in the near future. I was hoping someone might have some info about them or may be able to point in the right direction as what they might be worth and the best way to possibly find buyers that my be interested in said items.


One is a single shot shotgun that simply has "Nitro King" and "Choke Bored" on it. From what i've found online, it's probably not worth much of anything and was sold be sears and roebucks.






Two are unmarked flint lock pistols. I have searched and searched and can find no markings what so ever on them.

1st pistol - the "rod" looks to be a replacement dowel of wood.






2nd pistol - the barrel is engraved to look like a snake/serpent with orange eyes.








The last gun is a US Springfield 1861 (dated 1861) civil war musket.














My apologies for the poor quality of the pictures. I am in the process of moving again and have a lot of my equipment packed, but i might be able to take newer/clearer pictures if i can find all my camera cables.

Thanks!
-ferftunk

[Xracer]

Hi Ferftunk.....welcome to TFF.

Your Nitro King was sold, as you say, by Sears, Roebuck & Co., but was actually made by the Crescent Fire Arms Co. in Norwich, CT. Crescent was the largest maker of Hardware Store, Wholesale Gun Company, and Catalog House shotguns in the U.S.

Yours is a utility grade, inexpensive shotgun that would have sold in the $5 to 7$ range in 1908 to 1917, when it was made.

Current value is in the $50-$70 range.

On the pistols....the top one is percussion, not a flintlock, and the bottom one appears to have been a flintlock, converted to percussion.

Sorry, that's all I can tell you about them.

On the 1861 Springfield.....is there any other writing, numbers, or markings on it?

[Ferftunk]

Cool, thanks for the information. as far as the 1861, the only markings are on the lock plate and the butt. when checking things on line, ive seen other similar muskets had markings on the barrel as well, kind of opposite the lock plate with the date. i dont see anything there on this gun, or anywhere else for that matter.

i also dont think the 2nd pistol was converted to percussion. i know the pics are a bit dark and hard to see, but it still has a piece of flint (? i think) still in it with the strike plate and everything. nothing that appears percussion like the musket or the other pistol. the strike plate is kind of pushed forward in the one pic.

-ferftunk

[Xracer]

OK....with no other writing on it, your Model 1861 U.S. Percussion Rifle-Musket was made by the Springfield Armory in 1861-1862 in a total quantity of 265,129.

Springfield's with 1861 dated locks (yours) tend to bring up to 25% premiums.

Your's appears to be in NRA Antique "Good" to "Very Good" condition. If it's all original, and with the premium, I'd estimate the value to be around $1,700-$2,000.

The above information is from Flayderman's Guide to Antique American Firearms & Their Values (the "Bible" of Antique American Firearms).

On the 2nd pistol....if it's still got flint in the lock, it's a flintlock. It was hard to tell from the photo whether that was a broken piece of flint or a percussion nipple. Of course, a great number of old flintlocks were later converted to percussion.

Still no info on the pistols....but I'll keep looking

[steif]

Hi,
I agree on the musket, it looks to be a fairly nice example of the 1861 model.
In Flaydermans they have a section for single shot percussion "boot" pistols and have one pictured much like this and give a price of $150-195.
The bottom pistol looks to be a Miluquet or dog lock flintlock, without careful examination I could not say what it might be worth, they made a lot of them for using in the middle to late 1600's... but they also made a lot of these for tourist souvenirs in the mediterranian areas also.

[Ferftunk]

Awesome, thanks for the information on them. I found it extremely hard to even know what keywords to attempt to search on for any info on the pistols. With no markings, its really something i have no idea where to even start.

as far as the musket being all original, i noticed 1 of the 3 metal bands holding the barrel to the stock looks a bit more pitted and doesnt fit as tight (the middle of the 3), so im assuming that may not be an original piece for the gun. or perhaps it is and the other 2 are not.

-ferftunk

[magusjinx]

The loose fitting of the barrel bands might also be the result of the wood swelling from moisture and thus deepening of the groove in the wood for the band ... Then later drying of the wood can result in a shrinkage, thus looser fitting ...

[Xracer]

Also, barrel bands are made of a different, much softer, steel than the receiver and barrel.....and thus may rust and pit more quickly.

In addition, if this rifle were actually used in battle, a barrel band or the stock may have been broken and replaced.....not an uncommon occurance.

Just FYI, here are the NRA Antique grading standards:

NRA ANTIQUE FIREARM CONDITIONS STANDARDS:

FACTORY NEW: All original parts; 100% original finish; in perfect condition in every respect, inside and out.

EXCELLENT: All original parts; over 80% original finish; sharp lettering, numerals and design on metal and wood; unmarred wood; fine bore.

FINE: All original parts; over 30% original finish; sharp lettering, numerals and design on metal and wood; minor marks in wood; good bore.

VERY GOOD: All original parts; none to 30% original finish; original metal surfaces smooth with all edges sharp; clear lettering, numerals and design on metal; wood slightly scratched or bruised; bore disregarded for collectors firearms.

GOOD: Less than 20% original finish. Some minor replacement parts; metal smoothly rusted or lightly pitted in places, cleaned or re-blued; principal letters, numerals and design on metal legible; wood refinished, scratched bruised or minor cracks repaired; in good working order.

FAIR: Some major parts replaced; minor replacement parts may be required; metal rusted, may be lightly pitted all over, vigorously cleaned or re-blued; rounded edges of metal and wood; principal lettering, numerals and design on metal partly obliterated; wood scratched, bruised, cracked or repaired where broken; in fair working order or can be easily repaired and placed in working order.

POOR: Little or no original finish remaining. Major and minor parts replaced; major replacement parts required and extensive restoration needed; metal deeply pitted; principal lettering, numerals and design obliterated, wood badly scratched, bruised, cracked or broken; mechanically inoperative; generally undesirable as a collector's firearm.

[Ferftunk]

I took a few new/clearer pics of the 2 pistols today. The pics are a bit large, but hopefully thats ok for showing detail and stuff.

the flintlock:




















the percussion:














my apologies if the pics are a bit large. i can try resizing them if anyone thinks its an issue.

-Ferftunk