.72 caliber. 8.5" pinned barrel. NSN. Bright finish, brass furniture, smooth walnut stock. Single shot flintlock muzzleloading smoothbore pistol made without sights, with a single brass thimble and a wooden ramrod. 5.125" flat flint lock has a rounded, reinforced cock. The lock has a detachable rounded, fenced and bridled brass pan, a frizzen with a straight, angled toe and a frizzen spring that terminates in a point. The lock is marked with a {Spread Winged Eagle} over "U STATES" forward of the cock and in three vertical lines at the tail "S. NORTH/BERLIN/CON.". The lock shows matching tiny "W" mating marks throughout, with the exception of the top jaw and screw which might be very old replacements. The top of the breech is marked "P" over "US" with a small "P" on the backstrap as well. A weak "V/HHP" (Henry H Perkins) block letter inspection is present on the counterpane. Tiny "VV" assembly marks appear on the other screw heads of the gun. 

Simeon North received a contract to produce 1,000 pairs of pistols (2,000 total) of this pattern in November of 1811 and in late 1812 the contract was amended to have the design modified to replace the barrel pins with a double strapped barrel band secured by a "Wickham's Improvement" stud. It is believed that less than half of the contract had been assembled when the new design went into production. Surviving examples of these War of 1812 pattern pistols are extremely rare and this is really lovely example that has survived in original flint.

Good to Near Very Good. Bore fair to good, dark, heavily oxidized and showing moderate pitting throughout. Barrel lightly cleaned and showing moderate oxidation, discoloration and evenly distributed light to moderate pitting. Markings remain clear in the metal, weaker in wood. Lock remains in original flint and is mechanically functional. Wood is crisp with good edges and lines, with a couple of repaired internal cracks in the forend that are nearly invisible from the outside and a tight grain crack emanating from the lower rear of the lock mortise towards the grip. A small chip is missing from the obverse butt above the buttcap and the backstop is slightly proud of the wood. Otherwise the wood shows lightly scattered bumps, dings and marks from more than 200 years of life and service.