Pistol find questions

[Otter]

My Uncle's sister-in-law bought this pistol at an auction recently. Does anyone have any idea of what it is and about when it was made? All I know about it is that she was told it was early 1800's and there is a "D" with a crown over it marked on it somewhere (I don't know if it is on the lock or somewhere on the barrel). I have asked for additional pictures and any more info she might be able to glean by closer inspection . . .

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[torn moc]

WOW...Nice Find!
it's English...I think it is a Land Service pistol..not sea service....but I aint an Xpert.

 

[JV Puleo]

A Belgian-made cavalry pistol. Its a very late flintlock, probably made in the 1840s. They bear a slight resemblance to British/Indian percussion single shot pistols and could have been made for the near eastern trade. There are actually lots of them in circulation, imported (probably from Belgium) around the turn of the century and sold by both Bannermans and, I think, Sears Roebuck. I've no idea what country, if any, they were made for and I've always assumed they were never actually issued but sold as "pirate pistols" long after they were obsolete.

I should add, they are only common depending on what part of the country you're in. I'm in New England and we used to see them frequently in antique shops, albeit nearly always identified as "Revolutionary".
Thirty years ago a good friend of mine had one hanging on a nail in the kitchen. We used to take it out to the field to shoot cans off a fence. Being a real flintlock, made by workmen who understood such things, it was much faster and more reliable than any reproduction.