Acier Fondu Revolver

[dh1633pm]

Picked up two Acier Fondu Revolvers today for $75.00. I was reading about it about them on google. Just wondering if someone has some information to add that I might not have found online. One is missing a couple parts, but cycles and cocks so much better than the other. Also notice the different front sights. I would expect they are worth more than I paid.

 

[Walkalong]

Very cool guns.

 

[beag_nut]

Are they pin-fire blackpowder?

 

[dh1633pm]

They appear to be, but I don't know much about pin fire.

 

[Monac]

"Acier" is the French word for steel, IIRC. They speak French in the gun-making region of Belgium, too. Fondu might be something like forged or cast, or foundry.

 

[chicharrones]

A very nice find. I didn't know about those revolvers until now.

Are those notches on the stocks of the non-checkered gun?

 

[bannockburn]

dh1633pm

"Acier Fondu" translates from French to English as "Molten Steel".

 

[dh1633pm]

I had read that on a site that I found. And thanks.

 

[Curator]

dh1633pm: You have what appears to be a "knock-off" Lefaucheux Revolver. It is chambered for a pin-fire cartridge invented by Casimir Lefaucheux in 1843. They were quite popular in Europe before the invention of rim fire and center fire cartridges. Many of them were made in Belgium, but yours may be an original made by licensed manufacturers in France under Lefaucheux's patent. A few were imported int the US during the American CIvil War. They are probably either 7mm or 9mm pin-fire. You can still get "kits" to make your own pin fire cartridges if you do a search on the internet. Just don't drop them after you assemble them.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Just don't drop them after you assemble them.

Ain't that the truth.

Picked up two Acier Fondu Revolvers today for $75.00. I was reading about it about them on google. Just wondering if someone has some information to add that I might not have found online. One is missing a couple parts, but cycles and cocks so much better than the other. Also notice the different front sights. I would expect they are worth more than I paid.

View attachment 799668

Those are some cool old revolvers man. I have a thing for pinfires.

1860's Belgian pin fire

• Zaydok Allen
• Oct 20, 2016

9mm

Intact working pinfires can bring in a few hundred dollars to a collector. True Lefaucheux revolvers usually demand a premium but I see them sit on GunBroker quite a bit. They're a cool piece of history.

I put mine in a shadow box and I managed to find these old design drawings for the cartridges online. I printed one up and used it as a backdrop for the shadow box.

9mm-pin

• Zaydok Allen
• Nov 2, 2016

7mm-pinfire

• Zaydok Allen
• Nov 2, 2016

5mmpinfire

• Zaydok Allen
• Nov 2, 2016

Unfortunately I don't recall the sight I found them on.

 

[Ks5shooter]

Pretty cool looking,are they safe to fire?

 

[dh1633pm]

The two that I got appear to be shootable based on the typical things that you would look for in a revolver. But I am not going to do that. I am just going to find a nice display case for the pair and show them off a bit.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Pretty cool looking,are they safe to fire?

Finding pinfire ammo is nearly impossible and when you do it's typically quite valuable to collectors.

I'd be curious to see if they would even fire.

 

[dh1633pm]

Inspected the pistols a little more tonight. One works better than the other. Both have some surface rust that needs to be cleaned up. One is missing the loading gate and ejector rod. I too was thinking of putting these into a shadow box. Mechanically the pistol with the missing parts functions really nice. The other one doesn't work in double action too well. When you cock the hammer the cylinder spins. Not good. I may take them a little apart and clean some of the gunk out of them. And then shadow box them. I saw on ebay a couple that I liked.

How does one tell who made them? Acier Fondu is the only markings on both of them.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

It can be hard to tell as many designs were copied over and over by different makers. I like them but I'm not knowledgeable enough to offer any guidance. Maybe Curator will chime back in.

 

[dh1633pm]

The thing is you already gave me good guidance 460. I am going to clean them just a little bit to rid them of the dirt and then mount them for display. To learn more about them is gravy. So thanks.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

The thing is you already gave me good guidance 460. I am going to clean them just a little bit to rid them of the dirt and then mount them for display. To learn more about them is gravy. So thanks.

Oh, good. I'm glad I was helpful in my small way.

 

[Kaeto]

Finding pinfire ammo is nearly impossible and when you do it's typically quite valuable to collectors.

I'd be curious to see if they would even fire.

Here's a company in France that sells reload kits for pinfire.

http://www.hc-collection.com/lefaucheux-pinfire-cartdriges-c102x335262

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Here's a company in France that sells reload kits for pinfire.

http://www.hc-collection.com/lefaucheux-pinfire-cartdriges-c102x335262

Cool!

 

[dh1633pm]

I have been looking over the two pistols for a bit now. I see some other marks on one of the pistols that I have attached. Anyone have any idea of what the marks indicate? Seems to be "L" on the barrel and again on the cylinder. On the cylinder there is also a "E" above a "LC" or could be "LG". On the left side there is an "R". No other markings visible. I did remove the cylinder to see if there were any other markings. There were not.

 

[natman]

I have been looking over the two pistols for a bit now. I see some other marks on one of the pistols that I have attached. Anyone have any idea of what the marks indicate? Seems to be "L" on the barrel and again on the cylinder. On the cylinder there is also a "E" above a "LC" or could be "LG". On the left side there is an "R". No other markings visible. I did remove the cylinder to see if there were any other markings. There were not.

View attachment 802174 View attachment 802176

The ELG proof mark is Belgian from the 19th century.

 

[dh1633pm]

Thanks.