OK so what am I missing here ? Famous maker ?

[flashpoint]

10k is a lot of cash for me but it's just pocket change for a lot of collectors.

Pocket change for sure. A 1984 Spiderman comic book PAGE just sold at for 3.34 million at auction. Crazy world.

 

[sportster73hp]

At $5000 for restoration is this to shootable or just cosmetic to then put on display. If it were worth $60,000 I would be afraid of shooting and breaking it.

 

[NCGoober]

I wonder if the seller knew what they had or if they're still recovering from a heart attack at the hammer price.

By the description, name mis-spelling, and the question mark it seems like the seller was clueless and the crappy pictures backs that up.

Description
BARREL, SIGNED J. TERRELL? BROKEN STOCK, GUN AS IS, SOME MISSING PIECES

 

[poker]

By the description, name mis-spelling, and the question mark it seems like the seller was clueless and the crappy pictures backs that up.

Description
BARREL, SIGNED J. TERRELL? BROKEN STOCK, GUN AS IS, SOME MISSING PIECES

Not necessarily so. Many antiques are squirreled away where nobody knows about them. Unless you were highly familiar with old firearms, you would likely think it was just a pile of rusty junk. Id guess 99% of the auctioneers in the country wouldn’t know much at all about antique firearms. And likely it was an estate auction where the heirs didn’t either.

 

[Brian Anderson]

A screw on the rear tang of the trigger guard was common on the earlier pennsylvania rifles

 

[rich pierce]

At $5000 for restoration is this to shootable or just cosmetic to then put on display. If it were worth $60,000 I would be afraid of shooting and breaking it.

It would be extremely rare to try to shoot an original flintlock longrifle of significant value.

 

[120RIR]

I stumbled across this forum and specifically this topic this afternoon. I'm the crazy guy who knew precisely what he was doing and consider myself crazy lucky to have won this auction. Rich Pierce hit the nail on the head as to why this seeming train wreck went for such a relatively high price. I say "relatively" because another very early rifle recently went for around $300k and it was in need of some comparable restoration. This Ferree rifle and that rifle were apples and oranges in many respects but y'all get the general point. Had this rifle been listed by a much more prominent auction house and/or one that caters to specialized collectors (e.g., Morphy's, Rock Island Auction, etc.), I'm pretty sure the gavel would have come down on a much, much higher price. As it was, I'm sure the auctioneer and especially the consigner (or is it "consignor"?) were quite surprised.

 

[nchawkeye]

Please let us know if you do restore it and let us see the finished product...Congrats!!!

 

[deerstalkert]

congratulations 120RIR!
the monies spent would have disappeared swiftly on many lesser items. this rifle can be tangible evidence of that money for another couple centuries .
well played!

 

[120RIR]

Restoration done. It was a "minimal" style...simply replaced the forestock, replaced and wood around tang, restored to flint configuration which was easy considering it had a replaceable pan, a new patchbox lid and some simple oiling of the wood to bring out a little color and give it a warm glow. All of the original remaining finish was left untouched, dings, chips, and splinters left in as-found condition, and he did not weld the hole from the percussion drum but instead did some very effective and extraordinarily clever peening of old iron and an incredible job of matching patina. Someday, if someone wanted, all they have to do is ease out the plug, remove the pan/frizzen/spring, and pop in all the old parts which I'm saving (e.g., hammer and drum/nipple). It's a slender, graceful and simple rifle but all agree early (ca. 1770) and spectacular and so far, the only fully signed example of his work. There are several rifles signed "J. Ferree" out there but there is some debate as to whether they are from Joel, or his nephew Jakob who was working post-war. The entire restoration process wasn't nearly as simple as I make it out to be, but it was accomplished by highly regarded John Robbins here on the Left Coast. I doubt anyone else could have done such a skilled, well-researched, believable, and nit-picky job!

 

[nhmoose]

Thanks for the look at the restored rifle. You have saved much American History and that rifle should now be around for another 100-200 years

 

[Colonial Boy]

Well done, Sir, well done.

 

[Bushfire]

Thank you for sharing the photos, fascinating to see a living piece of history.

 

[sb 54 cal.]

Would like to know what caliber this fine rifle is. Thanks for showing us such a fine weapon.

 

[rich pierce]

Fine restoration of an important early Lancaster rifle. Just right. Good for generations now.

 

[120RIR]

Yep...she's a real peach, eh? The caliber is around .60 +-

 

[necchi]

Restoration done.

I honestly don't understand what your trying to get at with your 3 posts in the forum.
Your "restoration" share, is a rifle that is obviously not the same as that shown in the original post.
Good luck,,,,,,,,,

 

[120RIR]

I'm mystified by the last post. Informed participants on this and other forums know better.

 

[Hatman/2nd line]

I'm mystified by the last post. Informed participants on this and other forums know better.

It sounds like someone is a little green!

 

[Bad Karma]

I'm mystified by the last post. Informed participants on this and other forums know better.

Some of the participants here are suspicious of strangers. Anyway, well done and welcome to the board.