Price check on Enfield Tower 1862

[kdave21]

I have been offered a musket of the above description. It has the crown on the lock, and the words "Tower 1862" on it. The finish is a matte plum color. The gun appears to be unmodified, however the rear sight has come loose (although included in the sale). It is also missing the sling swivel that goes into the trigger guard. The bore is dark, and I am going to need to look closer to see if there is actually any pitting or not. Function seems correct. There is no bayonet with this. Let's assume this is not a confederate example.

I have recently learned that a confederate example will have an anchor behind the top of the lock. I did not know to look for that when I saw it before so I will have to check on that. If it is confederate, how does that change the value?

Without pictures, it is impossible to determine I know. But what is the price range on these? I found one example on GB that sold for near 1K, and have seen others that seem to struggle to get past 500... any thoughts?

 

[Jim K]

The "anchor" story is a new one on me, but I am always willing to be educated. A proven CS connection would increase the value of an Enfield considerably, but that also means that many Confederate-marked guns are counterfeit, and even experts often cannot be sure.

For example, I have a Pattern 1853 dated 1856. If I stamped "C.S." on it with a stamp set that dates to the Civil War era, which I also have, I doubt anyone could ever determine that the marking was not put there by a Confederate armorer.

Jim