British Pattern 1801 Sea Service Pistol

Napoleonic Wars / War of 1812

.56 caliber (pistol bore). 12" pinned barrel. NSN. Bright finish, brass furniture, walnut stock. Single shot flintlock muzzleloading smoothbore pistol with belt hook, made without sights. 5.3" flat flint lock with pointed tail remains in original flint with integral rounded, bridled and fenced iron pan and flat reinforced cock. Lock marked {CROWN}/GR forward of the cock with a {CROWN-BROAD ARROW} inspection below the pan and TOWER in a vertical arc at the tail. Lock marked {CROWN}/3 on the interior as well as with the maker's initials RW. Upper right wrist with a weak, partially legible storekeeper's mark of a {CROWN-BROAD ARROW}/180?. Standard Board of Ordnance proofs on upper left quadrant of the breech, inspected what a large 2 on the tang and with a {CROWN/18} at the touchhole. Belt hook marked with a {CROWN/6} inspection. Indistinct inspection marks in the ramrod channel of the stock. Matching mating marks of three file slashes in the form of \ | | are found on the top edge of the lock, on the necks of the lock screws, on the lower edge of the belt hook and in the ramrod channel. The pistol was not further disassembled. The buttcap is rack numbered 40. An old brass tipped wood ramrod is present, secured by the single flared pipe, and is short of full length. A scarce example of a British Sea Service Pistol in original flint from the Napoleonic Wars and War of 1812 period that retains the original belt hook that is mating marked to the gun. {ANTIQUE}

Good. Bore is heavily oxidized with some rust and pitting. Metal moderately oxidized with scattered discoloration and surface roughness on the barrel. Markings remain mostly clear and legible in the metal, weak in the wood. Mechanically functional lock. Brass with a medium golden patina. Wood with moderate to heavy wear, showing cracks and damage to the grip area and some chipped loss around the lock mortise area. Otherwise wood with numerous bumps, dings and mars as well as loss around the barrel retention pins.

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Please email [email protected] for any additional information or questions you may have regarding this lot.

Mr. Tim Carey

Associate Vice President, Head of Department, Arms, Armor and Militaria

[email protected]513.666.4984

Mr. Carey joined Cowan’s, a Freeman's company, in 2021 and is a 40-year veteran of the sporting arms and outdoor recreation industry. Carey joined Cowan’s from Griffin & Howe at Hudson Farms in Andover, N.J., where he was responsible for the acquisition, appraisal, and consignment of top-tier firearms consignments from important makers such as James Purdey & Sons of London, Beretta, Caesar Guerini, B. Rizzini, Bertuzzi, Renato Telo, and Anderson Wheeler.

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British Pattern 1801 Sea Service Pistol

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