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Harpers Ferry Flintlock
AmmoRat
Member Posts: 64 ✭✭
I've been looking for some more info on this Harpers Ferry lock I picked up at an auction. It's dated 1811 and seems to be all complete. The springs are weak but I would consider it in near perfect condition. Most of the info out there is for the newer muskets. What model would this have gone? I plan on setting it up in a display case in my office with a little plate to identify a little info.
I picked this lock up at an auction last fall for less than the cost of a Big Mac. It was in a box of old vintage reloading tools and miscellenious. I seen it and waited all day in the cold and rain for them to get to this lot and I was the only one to bid on it. I guess I was the only one to know that there was a gem in there. Who knows. I think its worth a little more than a Big Mac but what is the real value of this lock? Plus is there anyway to tell if it is a reproduction?
Also the browning on the back of the lock is just dust that the flash picked up.
I picked this lock up at an auction last fall for less than the cost of a Big Mac. It was in a box of old vintage reloading tools and miscellenious. I seen it and waited all day in the cold and rain for them to get to this lot and I was the only one to bid on it. I guess I was the only one to know that there was a gem in there. Who knows. I think its worth a little more than a Big Mac but what is the real value of this lock? Plus is there anyway to tell if it is a reproduction?
Also the browning on the back of the lock is just dust that the flash picked up.
Comments
I have had couple of these rifles in for restoration. A nice one commands very serious money. If someone needs your lock for his rifle missing a lock it could get you several hundred.
Woud the date of 1811 on the lockplate refer to a date of production or a model number?
I have the Flaydermans 7th edition and it shows a Harpers Ferry pistol on the cover with a very similar lock. However it looks like they didn't make the pistol for a few years before my lock date. My initial thoughts were that it was on the small side for a musket. The lockplate is 5-3/8" long as rhmc24 stated in his response. Flaydeman goes on about the various model HP rifles but doesn't say much about the locks. Thanks again.
Been on the Road....sorry about being so late in replying...Your Lock is Not a Musket Lock...But Close...Its an 1810/11 Model Lock for a Pistol......called the Transition Model Made By Simeon North, Berling, Conneticutt, and known as the Model 1811... according to Fladerman, and the Total production of this Lock is only 2000....! The condition of Yours is Fabulous !!!! I must commend Your Photographic ability...and Value wise I'd estimate it's worth at somewhere close to Five Figures...If You have a FLADERMAN'S 6th Edition Look on Page 287, theres a Photo of a complete Gun...And I Pray that You don't Touch the Lock or Try to take it apart...Every Nick, Scratch or Burred Screw Head will Lower the Value....Best......
Capt.....look again. It's a Harpers Ferry lock, not an S. North.
It looks similar to a Model 1805 lock, but Flayderman's indicates that production stopped in 1808.
I stand by what I Posted last night!...Re-Read the Chapter and Verse... Its a Transition Model 1811....as Stated...
I'll take your word for it, but perhaps you could educate me a bit. Why did S. North mark the lock with Harpers Ferry markings ?
The Confusion about the Lock will be explained with photos...With the transition going from Harpers Ferry with the 1805 Flintlock to Simeon North and the manufacturing of the Model 1808 Navy Flintlock and then on to The MODEL 1811 AND MODEL 1811 TRANSITION FLINTLOCK PISTOLS.. (a.k.a.) model 1811/1813...Its been advanced that some Parts were transferred from Harpers Ferry to Simeon North by Government Order...Hence the 1811 stamp...Anyway....get Me your address and I'll have Copies of written information for You to peruse ....Welcome to the On going Lesson of Gun/parts etc...World!
Your talking about a flintlock mechanism that is purported to be nearly 200 years old. The original military flintlocks I seen of that age have had much rust and corrosion on the lockplate specially around the pan area. In the photos accompanying the original topic there is no great evidence of this expected rust/corrosion. The external finish on the lockplate is also suspect to me. It gives the impression of being a investment casting dating to the 20th Century, rather then a forged/fabricated part dating to the early 19th.