[jdurachta]

If anyone has any thoughts and comments on this Turkish Flintlock that I bought about 10 years ago - How old ? Value ? Etc . . .

Details:

19 " Long
18 mm Smooth, Round Barrel
Good Condition


Well - can't seem to upload pics - if anyone can help me here also . . .

Thank You

 

[Jim K]

Sorry, on this one we would need pics. The gun could be anything from a tin souvenir "gun" to a jewelled and gold inlaid masterpiece.

Jim

 

[hrf]

Well - can't seem to upload pics - if anyone can help me here also . . .

Thank You

Click on GO ADVANCED and then on the paper clip icon to find and upload your pics.

 

[jdurachta]

Regarding My Turkish Flintlock -

These are some pics -

Thank You

 

[jdurachta]

Other Pics -

 

[Buffalochip]

I suspect you don't want to hear this, but it is a typical, gaudy, and poorly tooled tourist piece that was not meant to be used, but as a wall hanger. The pointed frizzen cam, alignment of the cock to the frizzen, rough finish, thick trigger guard and trigger, etc. all point to "wall hanger." The touch hole may not be drilled, the springs are likely weak and the frizzen not hardened. On the plus side, from across the room it would look pretty good. As far as age goes, it may not be old enough to drink.

Value is as a decorative piece only--maybe $50 - $75.

 

[jdurachta]

Thank You for your help -

 

[Twicepop]

My brother was in Turkey several years back with the military, he purchased a percussion pepper box pistol at an antique store. After returning back to the states he took the "old" gun to a reputable gunsmith to have it checked out to see of it could be fired. They discovered that the cylinder was only bored back about 3/4 of an inch, and that none of the flash holes went into the chambers. Through some checking they determined the the gun was a fake antique. Through their research, they found there is a thriving cottage industry there that forges antiques to sell to the tourist trade. This turned out to be one of them, yours could be as well.

 

[soundguy]

this is at least the 3rd example of a 'fake'ed ' wall hanger we have seen in the past few months here.

 

[Jim K]

FWIW, U.S. troops in the mid-east are prohibited from bringing/sending back any modern weapons they may "acquire" in that area. (Unlike WWII, where captured enemy weapons - except machineguns - could be brought back.)

But they can bring/send back antique arms and guns that are considered to be in the Curio and Relic category. So the gun makers of that region, who have spend centuries turning out real guns for their countrymen and fake guns for the tourist trade, have a new market and a whole bunch of new suck..., I mean discerning arms collectors, to buy their products as valuable antiques. And as our troops return home, we are seeing thousands of those "guns" being put on the market, often by folks who genuinely believe they are antiques and worth thousands of dollars.

Jim