Old Pirate Pistol Found In Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

[NunoFPM]

When of my coolest finds ever it's an old pirate pistol, found it in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, it was in shallow waters 15-17 meters away from the beach.
It was the third day of my vacation in The Caribbeans and being an enthusiastic treasure hunter I decided to try my luck, I was 15 at the time, my mom decided to take this off and just stay at the hotel in the pool, I told her I was going to the beach and swim.
I started at the hotel beach, the sand was white and the water was crystal clear, perfect for some salvaging, took my goggles and went swimming.
I must have have stayed almost 5 hours inside the water going back and forward along the coastline in the shallow water shaking the sand and trying to find something. I was 15-17 meters away from the coast, took a deep breath and went down to the sand and started shaking it, then I saw something brown and with a little piece shinning and started digging, when I took it out I screamed of excitement under water, it was a pirate pistol.
The worst part was trying to get out of the country and in Portugal without getting in prison for arms dealing , my mom said it was an historical piece and she had bough it, after the police realized there was no real danger we went home.
Until today I don't know it's exact origin, but I do believe from the drawings and the carvings that it's from Africa.

 

[hamiddetecting]

Congratulations

 

[gold nuggets]

It looks to be in EXCELLENT condition. Nice find
Gold Nuggets

 

[NunoFPM]

Gold Nuggets
It may seem and we have taken good care of it, but time has done his damage on the pistol, it is very rusty, the cravings have been quite erased, some of the cravings have fallen off, the wood is in bad shape but the most amazing part is that the fire mechanism still works! This is my proudest find so far.

 

[stevemc]

It sure doesnt look like it has spent much time underwater. Nice find.

 

[wrecker]

I'm pretty sure it's a replica like the ones they sell in the many souvenir shops of Punta Cana. I lived and worked as a scuba instructor for many years in Punta Cana, dug a few relics on land and under water, participated in several expeditions, dove and dug around a lot of old shipwrecks etc. This pistol looks nice but it hasn't been under water for a long time, sorry.

 

[NunoFPM]

Wrecker
I agree with you, it really doesn't seem it has been under water, although it's a bit rusty, and my dad said that me once but I didn't want believe him beacause I dug it out of the water myself, if it is indeed a replica I'm a bit sad, this was my best find. But what bothers me is that the pistol seems African from the drawings and cravings, and it was buried in shallow waters in The Caribbeans, where did it came from?

 

[Jason in Enid]

From a tourist.

 

[JimDon]

I believe what you have is a movie prop from the Filming of the Pirates Caribbean. I believe the original was filmed in 2004 in DR. Very sweet find. You should check with the movie studio or watch the movies closely.

 

[JimDon]

Here is an example of a prop gun from the movie.

 

[ScubaFinder]

Now that WOULD be something if you salvaged Johnny Depp's pistola from the movie, I'm betting a movie prop would be worth more than a real pirate pistol. I agree that there is no way this is an authentic period firearm. If it was from the age of pirates, and you removed it from saltwater without conserving the wood and metals, it would be a pile of dust and rust by now. Still a neat find, and I would definitely follow up on the Pirates of the Carribean lead.

Regardless of how old it is and how it came to be there, you found it and it gave you many years of joy....that makes it a treasure regardless of its monetary value.

Jason

 

[NunoFPM]

After a lot of research and and some vacations in the middle I may have discover the real owner of the pistol.
It seems it was one of the gun/props used in The Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl and was used by the this guy.

It seems a lot of props were lost during the filming of all The Pirate Of The Caribbean movies, I only found one so there's more out there in the sand

 

[JimDon]

Your kidding right! I nailed it? Wow....

 

[Minrelica]

Crazy if true

 

[lorraine]

That's a neat find, Nuno.

Too bad it is not a real pirate's pistol, but it's stilll an exciting find!

I would love to find something like that!

What is the weight of this prop pistol?

Lorraine

 

[NunoFPM]

Your kidding right! I nailed it? Wow....

You did, it's not Sparrow's but it's really cool.

Lorraine it's about 2,4 Kg, so it's actually too light to be a real pistol I think.

 

[Minrelica]

Just out of curiosity, how exactly did you research this? Random Google searches or did you contact the studio?

 

[CASPER-2]

I have 2 nephews that are stuntmen /actors
they participated on that film and prop guns used were all flintlock style and better made
plus the pirates guns were all ratty and dark and beat up - just like their swords - after all they were cursed ghosts

 

[dewcon4414]

If that would have been in the water here..... all you would find is a ball of shells. Looks like more research is needed. Take it to a gun smith and contact the studio like suggested .... if you REALLY want to know.

Dew

 

[Jason in Enid]

I imagine if you contacted the studio with pics and any "evidence" looking for provenance, they would probably respond (if it WAS from the movie) that it was studio property and had to turned over immediately.