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Well, saw this one sitting all alone at the fun show, it was interesting and cheap, and is now mine.
Seller did not know where it came from, but it does look for all the world like those examples which we call 'Khyber Pass specials'.
Crude EIC lion on the plate, '1818' date on it (which by the way, that area looks like it was scrubbed and 'redated')
Have not had it apart yet to look at what may be underneath or behind the lock plate.
Thought you guys might be interested in having a look.
Well...I'd still have it. I still wouldn't mind a rack of Khyber pass guns. Don't imagine they would have a great following or value but there ARE those of us that have a curiosity...looks good to me.
Exactly...they definitely are interesting pieces of history.
Look at the '1818'....on closer inspection you can see the remains of a crudely applied crown with 'IB' and another letter, possibly 'I' under the crown.
Yes, it's a "home-brew". But may have some original Enfield parts, as anything usable was (still is?) recycled. The trigger could be original, and the trigger guard is not from the P53 family, but from something earlier. The lockplate (and maybe some internal parts) could be original, but totally worn out and recycled with fake markings - note that the screw heads have been peened over as if they were rivets - the threads were probably useless. The modern typeface of the faked number indicates that it was assembled in recent times - certainly not in the 19th century.
Well worth careful dismantling and cleaning to sort out the truly dud components. A new hammer would be a good idea IF you have any intention of firing it.
Anzac: It looks a lot like one of the later EIC percussion muskets- "type F", for example. These were very similar to the standard British regulation P1842 muskets. The EIC lion on locks of genuine EIC muskets is often quite crude. The font of the date on the lock is kosher for Windus flintlock muskets from the early 1800's (can't recall what range but my 1811 musket has identical font). Strange that that is on top of scrubbed markings. I don't know if I'd be inclined to immediately conclude that it's a "Kyhber Pass" gun. The EIC guns ended up widely distributed through the region and many would have been used hard and had crude repairs made to them. If you take the gun apart perhaps there might be additional markings on the underside of the barrel.
Ridolpho
Interesting thoughts by Ridolpho - which raises the point that it would be helpful to have a photo of the entire gun!
In fact, looking at
https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=62755
I reckon Ridolpho is on target.
---------- Post added at 04:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:24 PM ----------
however:
Hmm, IMHO not so much strange as plain fake??Quote:
Originally Posted by Ridolpho
It doesn't look as bad as the one I have when I got it. You can check the lion crest out on mine in the above link. Yours does look extremely crude compared to mine.
I took the lock off yesterday, and everything looked as though it had been shaped and formed with a rock. Extraordinarily crude. I don't think there is an authentic bit on this musket.