john wilson
40 Cal.
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2014
- Messages
- 104
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Love the quote Alden,sort of sums up my predicament with this pistol, all the experts know for sure that English matchlock pistols don't exist and yet here here is one...or so it seems Experts, being also expert in dodging difficult questions that question their expertise, won't commit (and who can blame 'em? no one wants to end up looking the fool). So I think this pistol may be of some historical significance, the bore is right,the style is right,the furniture is right and the patination is even throughout suggesting it's been together in this form for a hell of a long time,but I'm not an expert,therein lies the problem . Best expert appraisal I've got(Royal Armouries) is that it's 'probably early 19th cent. whimsy' now I'd like to meet the guy who put this thing together over a hundred years ago,shake his hand,congratulate him on his abilities and ask him why he took the trouble to do it and then leave it in a hole somewhere to go rusty? Doesn't make any sense to me. If it's a forgery, intended to deceive you'd expect to see attempts at giving it some provenence, like makers name or heavily rubbed barrel markings etc., none of that. Whatever this thing is, it was put together as it is a long time ago, that much the experts do agree on. They say there's a good possibility it may be colonial, but other than that there doesn't seem to be much interest, I would have thought they'd want to examine it thoroughly just in case, but no! I just don't get it, I could be wrong and this could be some 19th or even 20th century collectors homage to what an English civil war or early settlers matchlock pistol might look like, but why hasn't it been seen before.. or anything like it? If it were a well crafted modern piece,when in the hell are you going to find one of those locks?and who in their right mind is going to go to all that considerable cost, trouble and effort only to put it into a stock that would throw doubt onto its authenticity? Doesn't stack up. I think this thing may well belong on display either in the Tower Armoury or the NRA museum if it is a genuine thing, if it isn't it can stay with me quite happily because it's, as you so rightly say, sweet! Cheers John.