Well, just picked up a neat musket (always wanted one). I was told it was used by a Minnesota soldier in the Civil War. I was also told it bounced between Belgium and Switzerland and ended up used during the Civil War...anyway - just going through the first phase of ID'ng the markings and need a little help.
Now, I did find a "A Swiss Model 1842 Percussion Infantry Musket" that had the "Crown over BF" and "V inside of a Circle" markings AND M6328M on its butt while my new puppy has M5xxxM on the butt. That rifle was sold at auction in 2006.
1. Their are Belgian Gun Maker markings (Crown over BF) all over the rifle...
2. Their are the standard Belgian (E over LG star) Proof House Markings...
3. Their are a few "V inside of a Circle" - no clue...
4. Haven't a clue what the "CGP" - no clue...
5. Haven't a clue what the "1091" markings is (maybe a serial number?) - no clue...
6. Haven't a clue on the "shield" markings - no clue...
7. Haven't a clue on the "895" stamped on both the metal and wood...
8. Upside down "shield" - no clue...
9. And more noted on my website...
Will do Buffalochip - didn't want to overload the pages - that was why I listed a link to my pictures. So, I will reduce the size and load them up here. Thanks for the suggestion.
Given that the Swiss made most of their own muskets, if it is Swiss (and I'm not so sure of that) I would guess that it was modified in Belgium after it was sold by the Swiss. The shape of the backsight and the hammer look alot like the Prussian Potsdam muskets. The Prussian caplock muskets were modified flintlocks with shallow rifling and backsights added to previously smooth board barrels. Many Potsdam muskets were imported in the early months of the U.S. Civil War. Given that I do not see any Swiss Federal cross markings on your musket I'm inclinded to assume that you have a converted Belgian musket.
Do you have a source of who the crown over B & F might be or was that a generic makers mark for Belgium?
My proof mark book shows the e over LG over crown, in a circle as proof with a standard load and not a proof load.
My suspicion is that 895 is probably an armory stamp and that CGP is the initials of the inspector and his mark of acceptance.
None of my scant sources show the chevron or the shield. I'm sorry I am not a lot of help
The wood is remarkable for the age of the piece...almost too good.
Regarding the Swiss, according to the "Standard Directory of Proof Marks", they did not have a national proof house until 1871 which obviously post dates that rifle. The Model 1889 Schmidt-Rubin was the first Swiss military arm to be proofed.
The only real "proof mark" that I see is the Belgian. The rest may or may not have anything to do with proof.
Jump over to Beuret Frères and it states: The CROWN/BF stamp is most probably the mark of BEURET Frères (1836/1879) although it could also be the stamp of BAYET Frères (1860/1881) but I'll rather be inclined to believe it's BEURET's, their mark being a definitely a Crown/BF.
I had another forum indicate that the CGP might be the Inspectors Mark - but I wonder why he (or she) would ONLY do it on the Stock and on all four sides. Kind of seems like an overkill. I kind of thought it was the owner going wild. I did search everyone (recorded) that served as a Minnesota Soldier during the Civil War and found a few with those initials.
Regarding the Swiss, according to the "Standard Directory of Proof Marks", they did not have a national proof house until 1871 which obviously post dates that rifle. The Model 1889 Schmidt-Rubin was the first Swiss military arm to be proofed.
Well, that does it for me. It is/was Swiss. But then we have the Belgian ELG mark. The Belgians did some work on this, maybe by converting it to a caplock musket, or maybe reamed out the rifling prior to selling it as a caplock shotgun.
Hey - does anyone really know what the heck was going on with all these darn arsenal marks, inspector marks, etc. - it was the wild wild west "back in the day."
On another note, it looks like at least parts of the stock have been sanded refinished--some of the metal, particularly the buttplate, is standing proud of the wood and at least one of the markings looks partially obliterated by sanding.
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