1458

Dutch flintlock pistol, professionally conserved and restored.

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Militaria Start Price:1,000.00 USD Estimated At:2,000.00 - 3,000.00 USD
Dutch flintlock pistol, professionally conserved and restored.
SOLD
Sign In To View Winning Bid
This item SOLD at 2009 Apr 09 @ 21:46UTC-4 : AST/EDT
All items are genuine unless noted. Most shipwreck coins and artifacts come with a certificate of authenticity (please check the description for each item).
Dutch flintlock pistol, professionally conserved and restored. 2 lb 2 oz, 15" long. Sometime in the 1990s a shipment of Dutch flintlock pistols was found on a French ship off Hispaniola, and these pistols were found to be ornate and intact, but with all the wood and iron destroyed by worms and oxidation. The pistols were then taken to Doug Armstrong, who is famous for his conservation work on shipwreck artifacts, and he preserved the ornate brass parts (doghead buttcap, ornately engraved trigger-guard, ornate sideplate and ramrod pipe), which were unaffected, and married them back to facsimile wooden stocks and iron barrels and locks that were molded from originals and then re-coated with shelly bits of the original encrustation that had been removed. The result: Unique, eye-catching pistols that look just like what you would expect for shipwreck salvage but without the continuing decay (most flintlocks found on wrecks are either kept "wet" in tanks or are sealed with an unnatural glossy coating that eventually bursts). The specimen we had in our Treasure Auction #3 was a major highlight and sold for over $4,000.