Should I buy this Brown Bess?

[Patrick Chadwick]

i think i'm going to get an indian repro for a wall hanger

And in fact I think that is precisely what the 1800 dollar object is! The wood does not look like walnut, and is certainly not 200 years old - just look at Badger's Bess and note the difference in the wood surface. The heads on the lock screws stand out sharp and new...strange, when you look at the barrel. There's probably a lot more that I could remark if I had it in my hands, but it is sufficent to say that the biggest give-away is, as so often, the inconsistency of wear on the surfaces of various parts. To judge that, you do not need any specific knowledge of the model, just a slow, piece-by-piece look.

[jmoore]

by the way that line marked on the top of the barrel near the tang on yours, is that some sort of crude rear sight?

In all likelihood the line to which you refer in Photo #11 of the MKL entry is an assembly index mark. Note that it is on both the tang and barrel. It's not the usual location for US military muzzleloaders (generally it's on the end face or bottom from what I've seen) so it's just a SWAG on my part.

[Gun Surfer]

Teggy, also, while I am nowhere near an expert, but it looks to me like that stock was refinished which if so, detracts from value in the collecting world.

Update - Did not see Patrick's post, looks like he caught it, maybe a new stock, not even a refinish.