18th Century Dutch Flintlock Musket Rebuilt and Upgraded with Barrel Bands
Sale 2030 - Arms, Armor and Militaria
Oct 23, 2024
10:00AM ET
Live / Cincinnati
Estimate
$2,000 -
$3,000
Lot Description
18th Century Dutch Flintlock Musket Rebuilt and Upgraded with Barrel Bands
American Revolution - War of 1812
.75 caliber. 40.5" originally pinned barrel, upgraded with brass bands. SN: 696. Bright finish, brass furniture, hardwood stock. Single shot flintlock muzzleloading smoothbore musket. 6.5" flat beveled "banana shaped" flint lock with faceted and fenced unbridled integral iron pan and flat faceted swan neck cock. Lock marked only with a touch mark below the pan and appears to be in original flint with some old repairs on the interior. Round barrel with baluster turned rings at the breech and 9" from the breech, top of barrel engraved No969. Top of buttplate marked with a Q and with the punch dot initials OL. The toe of the stock is stamp numbered 31. Heavy brass triggerguard and two-screw side plate, buttplate with typical bulbous Low Country screw heads on the bottom and a flush fit screw head in the tang. the stock shows rudimentary raised carved moldings around the lock mortise, the counterpane and around the breech plug tang. The musket is equipped with an old iron trumpet head ramrod that is a little short of being a fully functional length for the gun.
The musket was rebuilt, likely by the Dutch sometime circa 1790-1810 using older pattern components like the barrel, lock and old pattern heavy brass hardware and mounted to a newer stock with bands. The tenons for the barrel pins were removed from the barrel, it was probably shortened 2"-4" and the bayonet lug under the barrel, was relocated 1.5" from the muzzle of the shortened barrel. The newer stock was not made for pins, but rather intended for use with barrel bands with only the upper band being equipped with a retention spring and the other bands being friction fit. These upgraded "banded muskets" were actually rather obsolete by this time and many were sold of to American buyers, the state of Massachusetts in particular. This musket was acquired from Norm Flayderman's Catalog #115 as item #1123. While Flayderman lists this as Revolutionary War used example, banded Dutch muskets post-date the war, although the components used in their assembly often pre-date the war. A copy of the Flayderman catalog is included with the gun.
The musket was rebuilt, likely by the Dutch sometime circa 1790-1810 using older pattern components like the barrel, lock and old pattern heavy brass hardware and mounted to a newer stock with bands. The tenons for the barrel pins were removed from the barrel, it was probably shortened 2"-4" and the bayonet lug under the barrel, was relocated 1.5" from the muzzle of the shortened barrel. The newer stock was not made for pins, but rather intended for use with barrel bands with only the upper band being equipped with a retention spring and the other bands being friction fit. These upgraded "banded muskets" were actually rather obsolete by this time and many were sold of to American buyers, the state of Massachusetts in particular. This musket was acquired from Norm Flayderman's Catalog #115 as item #1123. While Flayderman lists this as Revolutionary War used example, banded Dutch muskets post-date the war, although the components used in their assembly often pre-date the war. A copy of the Flayderman catalog is included with the gun.
This lot is located in Cincinnati.
Condition Report
Good. Bore dark, dirty, heavily oxidized and pitted. Metal cleaned in the past, now showing a streaky and oxidized light and dark gray patina and scattered pitting. Breech plug tang broken with an old and ill performed brazed repair to attach it, which is not particularly solid. Endoscopic examination of the barrel does not reveal any internal welding or repairs to indicate reconversion, but the touchhole is oversized and sits a little low and forward in the pan. Lock remains mechanically functional when removed from the stock and is in original flint with the original integral iron pan, but shows old repairs on the interior to keep the lock working. The lock does not work properly when installed in the stock as the tip of the trigger does not appear to fully engage the sear lever to push it enough to release the hammer. The stock shows moderate wear and significant repair and restoration forward of the ramrod entry, with much of the forend glued, repaired, refinished and potentially replaced. The balance of the stock shows moderate wear and numerous bumps, dings and mars, as well as some minor wood loss along edges, mortise cuts, etc.
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