2085

Bronze "flash knuckles," French, ca. 1850, rare.

Currency:USD Category:Artifacts / Non-wreck Start Price:750.00 USD Estimated At:750.00 - 1,100.00 USD
Bronze  flash knuckles,  French, ca. 1850, rare.
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This item SOLD at 2011 May 23 @ 14:59UTC-4 : AST/EDT
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Bronze "flash knuckles," French, ca. 1850, rare. 689 grams; 5-1/2" x 4". What do you get when you combine a cannon with brass knuckles? A weapon like this one, which apparently was used to shanghai drunken bar patrons into sailors in the French navy. The 1-1/2" muzzle was loaded with flash powder and ignited, creating a distraction while the piece could be used as a club to knock out future deckhands. On one side of the tube is a shooting star around the touchhole, and on the other side appears the raised letters BTE S.G.D.G., known to stand for "patented without government guarantee" in French. Dark copper color all over, very sturdy.