Id on dueling pistols

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skidooman603

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First let me say "I know nothing about dueling pistols or weapons of this era"
I own a retail store and got talking to a lady about guns. She said her grandfather was in WW ll. He went into a bombed out building in Italy and found these pistols hanging on one of the walls that still stood. He brought them home from Europe. They have been passed down for a couple generations. I have no reason to not believe her story as she is only looking to insure them not sell them. My pics stink because all I had on me to photo them was my cell. Anyone have any idea from this crappy photo?

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Without some close-up, clear photos, we're probably not going to be able to tell you very much about these; the styling and construction looks typically Italian, from the late 1600s/early 1700s, and they might actually be snaphaunce pistols; is the steel/pan cover under spring pressure, or do they move back and forth freely? There should almost certainly be some maker's marks somewhere on the barrels, and those are probably going to be the only way to give a definite manufacturer or date on these. A good general reference for these sorts of pistols is Claude Blair's "Pistols of the World", if that helps at all.
 
Thanks for the response..Yes I am going to try to get to the pistols with my good camera. I have no vested interest other than helping out the lady and curiousity...
 
The picture is very fuzzy, but it appears that the wood stocks are rounded at the muzzles, indicating perhaps a lack of separate, removable ramrods. If this is the case (that is, that the ramrods are "dummies," carved as part of the stocks), it's an indication that these are typical flintlocks made in Italy for the Ottoman/Balkan/North African/eastern Mediterranean trade. These were made well into the 19th century. They were meant to be carried in pairs (or more) by tribal leaders in belt sashes, with the ramrod being carried separately or in a combination scabbard with a long knife. The carrying of these flintlock pistols in this way was a badge of wealth and/or status.

If this theory is correct, these pistols are not particularly rare. You see them at large gun shows selling for $600-$1,000. They are certainly not "dueling" pistols.
 
It would help to get either some good pictures of the lockplates and any barrel markings, or at least a full description of any markings.

Jim
 
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