Skip to main content
Help Center Community Shop

Help with proof mark ***PICS ADDED***

CHGOTHNDER
I am trying to identify an old pinfire, the markings I found so far are an ALG in an oval and that means Belgian but there are 2 more I can't identify the first is an "M" in a circle on the barrel bear the cylinder and the second is a backwards "P" with a star above it. The pics I took didn't come out good enough to post. It's a pinfire fully engraved with very ornate engraved grips with what looks like a fox carved on the bottom of both grips. This gun has no caliber listed on it anywhere and cycles, locks up and works great. If anything I'll post pics of the whole gun later today.

PJ
I finally added the pics.
pinfire0007.jpg

pinfire0006.jpg

pinfire0005.jpg

pinfire0004.jpg

pinfire0003.jpg

pinfire0002.jpg

pinfire0001.jpg

4e7feba9.jpg


editorialcolor.bmp
If nobody seen you do it, how could you have done it. NRA PATRON-LIFE Member, AF&AM, Shriner Life Member, A.B.A.T.E. of Illinois "Chicago Chapter" Founding Member & Board Member
0

Comments

5 comments

Date Votes
  • rufe-snow
    Can't help with the "M in Circle". "P with star" is most likely Belgian inspectors mark. This was in use as early as the 1850's. Each inspector in the proof house had a different letter.

    luger_4.jpg
    0
  • fotoguy
    I can't bring up your photo, although I can see you loaded the Photobucket image code. I did the same last night with my pinfire images. Advice: Go back to the Album page on PB and try the other IMG code (not the one which says "recommended") and paste it. It should come up full size like mine on my recent post here.
    I'd like to see your pistol, especially the carved grip. Is it made of gutta purcha?

    Later.
    0
  • BOBBYWINS
    I know zip about proof marks,but is it possible that it's not an "M",but an upside down "W"?

    BW

    IT'S WHAT PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THEMSELVES THAT MAKES THEM AFRAID.
    0
  • Frogbert
    Wow, what a piece. It looks very much to be hand made. I've heard of Afganis that can make wonderful copies of rifles and pistols from all over the world. There are surely other places in the world, also, where such talent resides and I couldn't begin to know anything factual on that particular piece. That's just what came to mind studying your images.

    Good luck on finding the truth.

    Frog.

    RiBBButt...You can't rollerskate in a buffalo herd, but you can be happy if you've a mind to. -Roger Miller
    0
  • fotoguy
    Hi, glad to see your photos, finally. I see similar features to my pinfire (see my previous post and photo of the cylinder gate) but yours is obviously older, i think, although I'm a newbie to guns. I can't tell from the photos (not sharp when you enlarge them) what the grips are made of. If they are not some type of metal, they might be the same material as my grips are carved from, which, I was told by 2 antique gun experts, is "gutta percha" a hardened rubber-like material from the sap of the gutta tree, patented back in the mid 1800's and used to make all kinds of objects, including insulation for the first Transatlantic cable. I don't think the grip figure is a fox, but rather some kind of symbolic mythical creature, since it seems to have wings and a big jaw unlike the fox's thin narrow face and snout, although the dirt is obscuring some detail as with my piece. I did a quick Google search on "mythical figures" and here's one of the sites I loked at with definitions ands drawings. If you want to do the same, you could start with this URL and a partial; quote of text therein: <http://www.mythicalrealm.com/creatures/gargoyle.html&gt;
    "Gargoyles which combine several different animals are also known as chimeras. Ancient myths often tell of beings made out of several creatures joined together in a single one: a human head on a lion body makes a sphinx, on a bird's torso a siren, and on that of a fish a mermaid. Some of these beings are true races, as the centaurs (half man and half horse), the harpies (another kind of woman/bird mixture), and the satyrs (men with goat's legs). Others come as one of a kind, as the Minotaur (half man and half bull), Echidna (half woman and half snake), and the Chimaera (or Chimera), this time a mixture of lion, goat, and snake." If you get a chance, try to get a macro lens to shoot sharp closeups with some better lighting for the marks and the creature. (If you take a picture with the cylinder out, you may find more ID marks on the cylinder). The carved subjects on our pieces tend toward the heroic and mythical style, suggesting a market originally for buyers in Europe, like Germany and neighboring countries. Fascinating stuff. Tell us what you find out/. Good luck! Tony.
    0

Please sign in to leave a comment.

Recent Activity