Some relics (pistols) with PICs and questions

[Notch]

Greetings all,
First time poster here. Just wanted to say very nice forum and very informative. I was curious on getting some information on some guns that were left by my great grandfather.

One is a cap fired gun? with a screw off barrel. Seems pretty old LOL, looks like something a pirate would have. The only marking I could find is the number 15 stamped on it.

The other gun is a PIN fire revolver? (Not sure on all the correct terminology Please forgive my ignorance) It has the stamping of ELG in a circle with a star, I believe it is British or French.

It could be neither that's why I'm inquiring here to gain some knowledge. Thanks in advance for any info......Oh ya here are some pics of the above mentioned relics

[Notch]

Ive been doing a little digging on here, and some of the info ive come up with....the second one is possibly a Lefaucheux revolver? I ended up on this site here http://www.littlegun.be/arme%20belge...verte%20gb.htm , and if you scroll down there is one that is extremely close maybe around the 20th picture or so, and has the same markings. AS for the first gun, I have no idea where to start LOL any help is appreciated

[Notch]

Pretty Please LOL

[45Auto]

The little screw-barrel pistol is American made post likely pre-1860 vintage. It's hard to say who made it, because lots of gun companies, large and small, made inexpensive little pistols like this. My guess is that Allen & Thurber made your pistol because of the quality and the style of the grips.

[Ursus]

ELG is a Belgian proofmark (House of Liege)

[John S Bryant]

the second piece is referred to as a 'pin' fire cartridge/ Note the slit next to the open chamber. that is where the 'tit' goes into and is the primer mechanism to fire the cartridge. I had one of those cartridges, about 28 caliber..

[RJay]

The first gun looks very much like a Classic Arms.

[56/50]

The first could be a Manhattan "Hero", later model!! Mine is the same except it has an all round barrel, cal. is around .40 to .44 depending on the year, will check out further for the possible year!! The second "IS" a Belgian 5 to 10mm most likely a Lefaucheux. I have 3 pinfires and the 5mm is small in comparison obviously to the 7 to 10mm but look identical!! By the way the Hero is also known as a boot pistol. Joe

[Jim K]

Casimir Lefaucheux invented the pinfire cartridge, and pinfire guns are often described as being of the "Lefaucheux system" or simply "Lefaucheuxs". Lefaucheux, however was French and that gun was made in Belgium, along with many tons of guns like it, and sold all over the world (without, needless to say, paying any royalties to M. Lefaucheux or his heirs).

That is a plain gun, of the type that sold for the equivalent of $3 when the system was in vogue; after the centerfire cartridge came on the scene, pinfire revolvers were dumped on the market for as little as the equivalent of $1 or $1.25. The system never caught on in the U.S., where the rimfire rapidly took over. There has been speculation that some pinfire revolvers, possibly even some pin-fire LeMats, were brought in during the Civil War, but I know of no confirmation of that. It is safe to say that pin fire revolvers would not have been welcome to either side without a guaranteed supply of ammunition.

Today, pinfire revolvers are novelties, selling for one to two hundred dollars at gun shows, though nicely made and engraved ones will go higher.

Jim

[56/50]

During the Civil War it is reported that the Union army purchased around 12,500 pinfires of all manufacturer's and supposedly atleast that many by the confederacy!! Joe