Sold for $1,080
.44 caliber. 4.25" octagon to round barrel with flat top. Browned finish, iron and German silver furniture, checkered bag shaped wood grip. Single shot percussion muzzleloading pocket pistol with fixed note rear sight and small blade front sight. Back action percussion lock is lightly engraved with simple floral motifs and is marked DERINGER/PHILA with the same information on the breech flat. Breech with two lightly engraved lines and barrel with underlug. Includes a brass tipped wood ramrod that may be an old replacement. There is probably no name more synonymous with percussion pocket pistols from the mid-19th century than that of Henry Deringer. Over roughly four decades he produced them in a wide variety of style from the tiniest "peanut" models to full-sized dueling pistols and everything in between. As a result his proper name has been turned into a generic word for all small pocket pistols of that style, and to this day, the term "derringer" is still widely used for tiny self protection pistols. This is a nice example of one of his early period (circa 1830s-40s) pistols in a larger, coat pocket size.
Good. Bore good with moderate oxidation, some pitting and strong rifling. Barrel with a moderately oxidized salt and pepper patina with a dull gray base color and scattered darker discoloration. Engraving remains crisp, markings remain legible. Lock is mechanically functional, although the sear does not always engaged at half cock. Hammer is a little loose on the tumbler. Wood with wear, showing scattered bumps, dings and mars.