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Massachusetts "Committee of Safety" Musket. The Colony of Massachusetts Bay adopted the Pattern 1756

Currency:USD Category:Antiques / Firearms & Armory Start Price:NA Estimated At:8,000.00 - 16,000.00 USD
Massachusetts  Committee of Safety  Musket. The Colony of Massachusetts Bay adopted the Pattern 1756
All items are as is, no warranty or claims and All SALES ARE FINAL. Please examine prior to bidding as it is the bidder's responsibilty to establish condition, age, genuineness, value or any other determinative factors.
Massachusetts "Committee of Safety" Musket. The Colony of Massachusetts Bay adopted the Pattern 1756 British Long Land as the model for the arms that it requested in 1775 (Peterson, Arms and Armor in Colonial America, p. 183). This gun is exactly what was produced according to that order. Stock is American, cherry with beautiful “bright” grain (ray flecks). Barrel is 46” now about 0.80” bore, and dates from about 1700, as shown by very early proofs of London Gunmaker’s Company and octagonal-to-round “two stage” configuration with intervening ring. Lock is from a M1728 French musket, of which Massachusetts captured large numbers at Louisbourg (NS) in 1745 and 1757. Brass hardware is entirely American. Side-plate distinctly thinner than British; trigger guard cast from British pattern, retains trace of hole for swivel, but never drilled for one; three ramrod thimbles of folded sheet brass (British used four, all cast), the top “trumpet” thimble being flared and elongate as in the British P1756. Raised-carved “apron” at tang of breech is styled after those of the French or Dutch muskets that were widely used in New England. Convex belly to buttstock is also in Dutch style. A unique feature: original assembly is with bronze (rather than iron) pins, to hold furniture and barrel to stock. This expensive alternative suggests naval service, where corrosion is always a problem. The overall condition is good to very good with metal surfaces showing a dark brown patina, light to moderate rust and erosion in its original flintlock state. Stock good with some losses, small repairs, cracks, and slight shortening to the forestock and loss of forend, but generally sound with a beautiful reddish patina that is uncleaned in modern times. Est: $8,000 - $16,000