RARE Freeman .44 Six Shooter

[Greg407]

I haven't had much to post about recently, but yesterday I made the find of a lifetime. My primary detector (White's VX3) is in the shop, so I have been swinging my back-up (XLT). I went to a spot that I had been to a couple times before deep in the mountains. I got a big iron hit but dug it anyway and it turned out to be a super rare Freeman Revolver!

This revolver was only manufactured for one year (1863-64) and only 1700-2000 were ever actually made. Although they were manufactured in New York during the Civil War, they were not widely or officially used during the war. I'm not really sure how one made it into the California soil, but I'll take it either way.

The first pic is the revolver fresh from the dirt. The second is a side by side with a slightly more well-maintained Freeman. That's after a light scrub with soapy water and a toothbrush. It's currently in an electrolysis bath so I will post more pics when it's ready.

Thanks for looking!

Greg

 

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[villagenut]

Awesome find, should clean up good too. Anything in the chamber?

 

[Greg407]

Thanks! Nope, at least not in the five I can see. I'm playing Russian Roulette with the sixth one.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Wow! The inventor lived in my hometown (Binghamton, NY) when he patented it; though they were made in Watertown, NY.

Kickin find!

0-Freeman

The Starr Revolver was also made in Binghamton. I keep hoping someone dropped one hereabouts I can someday find.

 

[Greg407]

Wow! The inventor lived in my hometown (Binghamton, NY) when he patented it; though they were made in Watertown, NY.

Kickin find!

0-Freeman

The Starr Revolver was also made in Binghamton. I keep hoping someone dropped one hereabouts I can someday find.

Yep, I was just reading up on the history of these revolvers.

 

[Army of 1]

Killer find Greg , any CW revolver recovery is a real lucky find and yours because of the rarity even better , congrats .. cheers Mick

 

[d2]

That is a fantastic find!!! Congrats...d2

 

[RJ55]

Great find

 

[luvsdux]

Great Find. Think what a loss that had to be back then for the owner.
luvdux

 

[nsdq]

wow super find and recovery

 

[1637]

my first banner vote,love this gun. brad

 

[Greg407]

Thanks all!

Luvs, yeah I love speculating about how these types of relics get into the ground. The homesteading in the area started around the 1850s and a narrow gauge railroad was built in the 1870s. The passengers on this train (mostly the loggers and produce packers) were notorious for getting drunk and were regularly thrown from the moving train. I'm thinking that either the gun (or perhaps the person with his gun) may have suffered that fate as I found it along the line (about throwing distance) between two ghost towns. I imagine he was none too happy with the loss.

Wow 1637! Never expected a banner vote!

 

[xr7ator]

Very cool find and thanks for sharing.

GL and HH ALL

 

[relic nut]

my first banner vote,love this gun. brad

I agree. Once in a lifetime find for a gun that rare. Meets my standards. Great find! Congrats! Make sure to repost after you get it cleaned.

 

[Captain Caveman]

Great Find. Think what a loss that had to be back then for the owner.
luvdux

Great Find! It's possible that this was the result of a gun fight! The owner may have been too dead to realize that he lost his gun!

 

[ivan salis]

I WOULD SAY A GUN THAT RARE FROM THE CIVIL WAR ERA ..IS A BANNER FIND

 

[Carolina Tom]

Very nice recovery. You just never know what you will find! Congrats on a sweet find.

 

[Greg407]

Finally got the electrolysis working correctly last night (after much trial and error over the last couple days).

Here is the Freeman after a good cook.

There are still some large encrustations and build ups in the nooks and crannies, so I'm going to give it another whirl tonight. I'll put up a new post with a full story when it's done.

 

[SeabeeRon]

Good work Greg!