how to sell cap musket?? help!
I have never tried this before, and am starting my research on the Internet. Pls forgive my ignorance.
I just inhereited a gun from my father, who got it from his father. I need some cash and would like to sell it, assuming it is even worth anything. Here's what I know so far:
-Percussion cap musket (don't know if it was converted from flintlock)
-Definitely not a replica - been in the family too long, and shows real signs of wear/aging
-the hammer and the nipple where the cap would be placed (don't know what this assembly is called) is on the LEFT side
-there is what appears to be a brand name and insignia o the left plate (where the hammer is), but I cannot make out the name, which is some kind of script - the bset I can do is "Sivlrt & Rointeng" - searching many different possible versions of this produced no results on Internet
-The family legend goes that it was used in the Battle of Little Big horn; however, it would seem to me percussion muskets would have mostly given way to rifles by then, plus there's no way to verify that...
I do not have the means right now to post a digital picture, but hopefully I will soon.
So I guess my questions are:
-Are original cap muskets (in, I would say, fair condition) worth anything?
-Could its being left-handed make it more valuable?
-Where would be the best place to try to sell it, or at least have it appraised??
THank you for your time and advice
Troy
feel free to e-mail if you like at tmwgator@stiorange.net
I just inhereited a gun from my father, who got it from his father. I need some cash and would like to sell it, assuming it is even worth anything. Here's what I know so far:
-Percussion cap musket (don't know if it was converted from flintlock)
-Definitely not a replica - been in the family too long, and shows real signs of wear/aging
-the hammer and the nipple where the cap would be placed (don't know what this assembly is called) is on the LEFT side
-there is what appears to be a brand name and insignia o the left plate (where the hammer is), but I cannot make out the name, which is some kind of script - the bset I can do is "Sivlrt & Rointeng" - searching many different possible versions of this produced no results on Internet
-The family legend goes that it was used in the Battle of Little Big horn; however, it would seem to me percussion muskets would have mostly given way to rifles by then, plus there's no way to verify that...
I do not have the means right now to post a digital picture, but hopefully I will soon.
So I guess my questions are:
-Are original cap muskets (in, I would say, fair condition) worth anything?
-Could its being left-handed make it more valuable?
-Where would be the best place to try to sell it, or at least have it appraised??
THank you for your time and advice
Troy
feel free to e-mail if you like at tmwgator@stiorange.net
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Hi, brerg8r,
The best apprasial is one where the person establishing the value acutally physically eyeballs the firearm in question. People on the Forum can give you an approximate, but almost never an exact price. Yes, your gun may have significant value, but it's manufacture will have to be pinned down more closely, and the photos would be of great help. Once the Forum members identify it from the photos (very likely--lost of varied knowledge here) someone can probably direct you to an expect in that particular area of gun collecting for a very close value. Old and left handed is unusual. Use at the Battle of Little Big Horn....Hmmmmmmmm???? Get the Photos.0 -
Locks tended to be purchased from lock making enterprises. Barrel markings are a little more exciting and almost always raise the value a bit. Nevertheless, your piece could have been made lock stock and bbl by somebody who merely marked the lock. If you are in a hurry to sell you miss lots of fun/disappointment, adventure. If you had endless time you could contact the people who did the forensic dig on Little Big Horn and see if a ball fired from your rifle matched the FBI forensics done on that dig. Presto! instant wealth. While some of the attached parties may have still carried percussion guns because they were enamored of the particular arm the Cavalry was pretty specifically armed with the trapdoor carbine and Colt Peacemaker (with a good scatter of 50-70's Smith & Wessons etc). If your people are American Indian that is a different breed of cat. The Indians used what they could get their hands on, from flintlocks to an embarrassing number of Winchester repeaters. Usually, the Custer's Last Stand business is an old guy's way of making a child's eyes go wide and round. Provenance is just that: Solid, documented information from a widely regarded source. Without some kind of documentation it is a good story of no monetary value. Almost any old percussion rifle in decent repair seems to start at $300 and go up, according to variables of condition, furniture, quallity of workmanship etc. If this were a Kentucky then you start in a higher bracket from the beginning. 0 -
Thank you both for your input - I'm afraid the barrel does not have any special markings that I can find. I did find two nothces behind the lock on top of the gun, which I thought was interesting. It is 52" long overall with a 36 1/2" barrel. I don't know the best way to show the pictures, so for now I'll just provide this link to the pictures and hope anyone who is interested might be able to tell me something: http://photobucket.com/albums/b234/Brerg8r/
Thanks!
Troy0 -
Several questions come to mind on that cap lock long gun.
1. Is it rifled or smooth bore as to barrel inside?
2. What caliber?
3. Any idea as to how long in the family?
First it looks to be a fowler which would make it a smooth bore. As to the lock, to my perspective it looks as though it was a flint lock at one time then converted over to cap lock due to the V shape of the lock plate under the nipple drum. Now that is just my guess and I could be wrong. It is a custom made gun being left handed guns were custom made. As to being in the battle of the Little Big Horn, highly unlikely. As to value, that is a good question that I or other people who shoot/collect/build custom smoke poles could not give you with pictures alone and would need a bit of time to really take a good long look at it. Is there a market, yes and no. Being left handed both hurts and helps it depending on where you try to sell it and who is interested in buying it. I will say this, it has a very fine piece of wood used in the stock so it is of a higher made/value long arm. Other things that affect value is working order of lock, trigger, pitting in barrel, wood to metal fit, and the ability to nail down a general time frame as to manufacture.
What hurts the market is there are poeple out there that can build a rifle of any time period and then antique it to look as though it is of that time period. Faking antique fire arms is a big business. Now I am not saying yours is like that I am just pointing out WHY you need to let people look the gun over real well, people who deal in antique long arms. The more "expert" opinions you get as to age, the more it is worth and the more you will get out of it.
Bottom line is IMHO, get it appraised by a REPUTABLE gun smith/builder by letting them look at it in person, not through pictures.
Education is nothing if common sense and manners are not in the curriculum!0 -
Looks like a musket barrel made into a left-handed hunting gun or trade gun. The left-hand percussion lock may have been scavenged from an older foreign double-barrel percussion shotgun. AFAIK, no nation ever issued left-hand muskets to its troops. The gun MAY have been used at the Little Big Horn battle, but I'd bet against it. Without additional documentation the oral provenance of the gun isn't worth the paper it's printed on. I've heard family histories of heirloom guns that were used in battles 50 years before the gun was ever built. Not to rain on your parade, but the Custer's Last Stand (AKA the Greasy Grass for you native Americans) story is very dubious. If this unusual gun WAS used in that particular battle, it would not have been carried by a cavalry trooper or officer, but by one of the Indians.
"I think of my gun as a tool for converting worthless human garbage into valuable fertilizer." John Dollar in the novel "Bridge City" by Fred Rexer0 -
Yeah, I'm not placing too much faith in that story - plus don't even know how we would verify it. My grandfather died four years ago and no one else knows anything about the gun...
Barrel is definitely smooth bore, to answer a previous question. I don't know how to measure caliber properly, but the business end (measured from the inside edges) is around 20 mm or just over 3/4 inch across. Been in the family at least 60 years, probably much longer - afraid I may never know with Granddaddy being gone...
Anyway, what's bugging me is tracking down the engraving or stamp on the plate. Not even sure that it's a manufacturer or gunsmith's name, looks like it could have been done by hand, so it could be anything.
Right now I cannot afford a professional appraisal, so I think I'll put it back in the closet until I have more money and time to pursue this...thanks for everyone's input.
Troy0
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