🔎 UNIDENTIFIED 18th Century flinlock pistol or repro

[cannonball]

Can anyone here tell me if this is a genuine 18th century flintlock or a repro. If so, why ?

 

[ncsuwolf]

Not certain, but it looks like it was buried for awhile. Begs the question, why would some bury a repro?

 

[BAW]

The picture of the butt, where the butt cap would have been fitted, shows handwork with a chisel, as would have been done on an original piece. A recent reproduction would be likely to show the characteristic marks left by a backing-off lathe or router. The picture of the left side shows that the sideplate was fastened to the lock plate with two screws, which is typical of 18th century flintlocks, but also of 19th century percussion pistols as well. In the absence of the lock and barrel it is hard to tell which of the two it is (or was).