Random observations on 1868's and GB

[Fred Gaarde]

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[arttodd3]

Thet don't get much better than that! It is a beauty.

[Fred Gaarde]

My point on this particular musket is that if there is something a guy wants really bad, he has every right to buy it, whatever he can afford. Even if some folks will always tell him that he paid too much for a thing. He’s the owner now and he’s happy.

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[John S.]

I'm envious. Those things are scarcer than Officer Model trapdoors, and probably only about 10% of those on the market in flintlock configuration are original flint, not reconversions.

[Fred Gaarde]

Thet don't get much better than that! It is a beauty.

Thanks! It’s fun to hold it and examine it!
The photos that Collector’s Firearms uses are extremely sharp, so it enables one to closely examine things.

[Lead Snowstorm]

I'm envious. Those things are scarcer than Officer Model trapdoors, and probably only about 10% of those on the market in flintlock configuration are original flint, not reconversions.

I’d imagine much lower. At least one of my sources (Johns) thinks maybe a couple dozen Springfield examples escaped conversion, mostly from New Hampshire.

Perhaps the original flint survivors are in greater proportion among the contract muskets? I will have to take a look at Moller.

[Fred Gaarde]

Since this musket wasn’t stamped by a government inspector, I believe it was assembled from leftover parts after the contracted 7,000 muskets were delivered.
I think that the musket was warehoused and being already obsolete when assembled, never found a buyer, then it and others must’ve been forgotten and so avoided conversion to percussion.
By the time it was discovered, maybe in a crate, all muzzleloaders were obsolete.
I wonder how many more if any of those muskets survive in the same basically unused condition today?
This is the first one that I’ve seen.

[Fred Gaarde]

Before and after photos…

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[carlsr]

Nice job Fred!!
What are the stampings below the U.S?

[Fred Gaarde]

I don’t know.