Prices for Powder horns, etc. in the 1800s?

[basslies]

Hope I'm putting this in the correct forum.

Just finished the second article on Francis Tansel powder horns of the 1800 period in the December Muzzle Blasts Mag. by Shelby Gallien.

What a great piece of work! Articles like that make me look forward to every month's offerings.

My question is this: what would the more ornate horns have sold for back in the time period they were made? And,what would that be in 2006 dollars?

I have read that a really nice rifle cost most of a years work, but would like to know about the possibles too.

Hope I can get some feedback on this. Thank to all of you.

H

 

[Many Klatch]

You have to remember that a dollar went a lot farther back in the day. A trained mechanic might work for a dollar a week and board. Lets imagine that he was working for a dollar a day. If the really fancy horn took two or three man days to manufacture. Throw in one dollar for parts and overhead. I imagine that $5 tops would have paid for one of the Tansel Horns.

I have no idea what current fancy horns are worth.

Many Klatch

 

[basslies]

Thanks for the reply Many.

With respect, I think I may not have been clear enough with my original post.

I think there must be records somewhere that actually show what the various possibles would have sold for. I know the dollar goes further, etc. I don't care what the present day value of "show horns" are, but would like to be able to get some grasp of their relative value to the original purchaser in the early 1800s by the prices they were willing to pay.

H

 

[rich pierce]

There's no data. How often I have wished for good documentation on so many things, but apparently folks back then were just busy living their lives and seldom wrote down details of common practices. "If wishes were horses, beggars would ride." According to Shakespeare, I'd be riding a racehorse.

So the best we can do is make guesses that are not even educated.

 

[Harddog]

My question is this: what would the more ornate horns have sold for back in the time period they were made? And,what would that be in 2006 dollars?

There is one scrimshawed horn in Dresslar's book that actualy has an advertisement on it.

"If horns you love / If horns you crave / Now for one crown / This you may have"

Apparently this guy was making, scrimshawing, and selling horns. This horn is dated 1770.

I don't know what a crown was worth then and now, but this might give you a place to start.

Randy Hedden

 

[paulvallandigham]

And I thought the saying was, " If poop was gold, the poor would be born without buttholes" or something a little more scatological!

 

[BrownBear]

Your question sparked my interest and went to this site to check inventories, shipping manifests and such from the fur trade era. It's striking that afer going through all the merchandise and trade goods moving around at that time, there's not a single listing for a powder horn. At that point most of the folks must have made their own or already owned on and didn't need another.

 

[Mad Monk]

In some of the writings of Whisker he noted that a gunsmith purchased a raw horn at the general store for 8 cents. Then someplace else I saw a common gunsmith horn being sold for 25 cents.

 

[basslies]

Thanks to all of you. Well, maybe except for the "scatalogical" help. :haha:

I may drop a note to the fine folks at Muzzle Blasts. Mr. Gallien may have a lead on the question too.

If it wasn't for the small stuff, what would we wonder about.

H

 

[Threeband]

A crown is five shillings, and 20 shillings make a pound sterling. If a pound was roughly five dollars, then a crown would be about a dollar and two bits.