.54 caliber. 10" pinned barrel. NSN. Bright finish, brass furniture, walnut stock.  Single shot smoothbore muzzleloading flintlock pistol with a period added dovetailed brass blade front sight, no rear sight, traditional lobed butt cap, ramrod thimble and entry pipe and an old, replacement wood ramrod. Flat beveled flint lock with prominent teat at the rear appears to be in original flint with an integral rounded and fenced iron pan with external bridle, flat toed frizzen and flat beveled swan neck cock. Lock with less common, variant marking "H. DERINGER" below the pan. Lock numbered "8" on the interior, as are the lock mounting screws. The barrel has a single "P" proof and no cartouches are present. A not fully legible name is scratched in the brass side plate. The consignor's collection notes referred to this pistol as a Model 1816 Type III but most references do not apply a model designation or simply call them the Contract Pistol of 1813. Similarly most references indicate these are War of 1812 contract arms, most of which were made for Maryland, some for shipboard use and some went to other buyers. This example is not "M" or "Maryland" marked, so it was either a ships pistol or other military contract, probably for militia use. No ships pistols of this pattern are known with belt hooks. Only a few hundred of these guns, at most were made, with some estimates as low as 56 and some as high as 1,000 or so. A rare, War of 1812 era contract pistol by a desirable maker. {ANTIQUE}

Good. Bore dark, oxidized and pitted. Metal moderately oxidized with a mottled appearance with patches of dark surface roughness over the gray patina of the barrel. Lock remains in original flint, although some small parts like the top jaw and screw appear replaced. The lock is mechanically functional. The touchhole shows moderate erosion and is slightly oversized with good taper and is well placed in the pan. Wood shows moderate to heavy wear, slivered loss along the upper edge of the forend on the reverse, chipped loss at the forend tip on the obverse and chipping at the lock mortise. Otherwise the wood shows numerous bumps, dings and mars.