Nice military Lefaucheux pinfire revolver. About .44 Caliber, 6 inch round barrel. The spur trigger guard and lanyard ring in the butt set this revolver off from the many civilian versions. Clear E. Lefaucheux / brevete markings on left flat of octagonal frame section; serial number 34379 on frame below cylinder; oval /ELG Liege marking on cylinder. Tall front sight, ejector rod and loading gate are all in place. Tight wood to metal fit. Mechanism needs tinkering: indexes fine but will not hold at half-cock and slides off of full cock. Tight wood to metal fit. Grips a warm brown tone with just a few scratches. Metal mostly plum brown with a few streaks of blue near the cylinder and a little gray at the edge of the muzzle on the left and on the frame below the cylinder on the right. The pinfire cartridge seems to be asking for trouble with a protruding firing pin, but the metallic self-contained rounds offered weather proofing and no fumbling for percussion caps. The U.S. government bought more than 12,000 of them and others made their way into this country by private purchase and prewar acquisition. I show a few images of Civil War soldiers armed with them. Some made their way into Confederate hands, perhaps largely through New Orleans: Jackson had a fancy presentation version. In any case, a nice example of a Civil War military arm that usually shows up in poor condition.
Shipping $20 insured. Payment by check or money. NY addresses add sales tax.
This is a pre-1898 antique arm using an obsolete and outmoded cartridge that is not readily available, but may still be restricted in some localities.