What is the value of 1810 era Calderwood flintlock?

Answer 1

Greg,

I recently tried to buy the following William Calderwood gun that was for sale for $5000 but I was too late:

It has a brass, octagonal barrel in about .52 caliber, which is marked CALDERWOOD, PHILA. The lock is clearly marked Calderwood and is original flint. There is a roller on the frizzen and the hammer is an early gooseneck profile. The trigger guard and ferrule are iron. The inlays on the bottom and back of the grip are sterling silver. You will note that there are two sterling silver inlays on either side of the grip. These are normally added to the guns to stabilize a crack in the stock. On this one however, I cannot find the crack. Two inches of the fore stock have been lost, along with the forward barrel key and its mount. There is a grain crack underneath the lock, which runs out at the tail. Even so, the gun has a nice appearance. I date the gun to about the War of 1812 period. William Calderwood was located on the Germantown Road in Philadelphia, from 1807 to 1820. In 1808 he made a contract of 60 pairs of horse pistols for the U. S. Government. The books I have indicate that there are only three examples of this U. S. Contract in existence today. This is not a contract gun but more likely an officer's pistol. Calderwood's guns are extremely rare and this is a nice example with beautiful markings.

William Calderwood was my 4th Great-grandfather. Are we related? How did you come up with the gun? Are you wanting to sell it? Could you email me pictures of the gun to dr_woo_117@Yahoo.com