.69 caliber smoothbore. 11" barrel secured by a single double strapped barrel band with a Wickham's improvement stud. NSN. Bright finish, iron furntiure, walnut stock. Single shot percussion altered smoothbore muzzleloading pistol with no rear sight, brass blade front sight and a trumpet shaped woodend ramrod with an iron jag at the end. Percussion altered lock marked with an {Eagle} over "US" and stamped in three vertical lines at the tail "SPRING/FIELD / 1815". Barrel with drum bolster conversion and marked "1818" on top and with a raised "P" in a sunken oval proof, along with an {Eagle Head} and a "V" on the left quadrant. A legible script "JN" (John Newbury) inspection is present at the tail of the counterpane. Traces of another, illegible, script cartouche are present as well, near the rear lock screw.

These large .69 caliber pistols, known correctly to collectors as both the Model 1807 and the Model 1817, are a rarity in marial arms collecting becasue only 1,000 were made and they were one of only three pistol types made in quantity at the Springfield Arsenal, the other two being the Model 1855 Pistol Carbine and the Model 1911. The orignial production was authroized and begun in 1807 but after the fabrication of a few hundred locks and barrels, the massive .69 pistol project were shelved in preference for a smaller caliber. In 1817 the authorization was granted to use up the parts on hand producing the guns, theoretically for naval issue. The old parts were used up and additional parts were made as needed to manufacture 1,000 of the guns. Many of the later locks were actually orignally made at Springfield in hopes of producing Model 1803 Rifles at that facility but that project was abandoned and all the rifle parts made other than the locks were sent to Harpers Ferry. Upon completion these pistols sat in storage and were still in the Springfield Arsenal inventory in 1850. When sold as surplus most were then altered to percussoin, so flintlock examples are extremely rare. Some of the percussion altered examples saw use during the early days of the Civil War. {ANTIQUE}

Good. Bore dark and heavily oxidized with some pitting. Metal with moderate oxidation and scattered freckles and patches of discoloration over a mostly pewter patina. Markings remain mostly clear and legible throughout. Wood with modearate wear, showing scattered bumps, dings and mars and some wood loss on the counterpane below the rear lock screw.