Scottish Pistol Pair

[Tordenskiold1721]

My knowledge of Scottish flintlock pistols and early Scottish snaphance pistols is very limited. I just picked up this pair in the Scottish style marked / stamped Tower.

Assistance in dating and identifying this pistol pair would be much appriciated:

[Will M]

They appear to me as somewhat crudely made reproductions. They would function well for re enactors props.

[Tordenskiold1721]

Originally Posted by Will M

They appear to me as somewhat crudely made reproductions. They would function well for re enactors props.

Interesting, were and when by who was this reproductions made ?

[fernando]

Well Tordenskiold, Will's prompt judgement sounds as if he is well under what goes on with this type of pistols.
Alli know about them is that they are not easy to find and not cheap at all ... specially being found in pairs,a greater added value.
Let us expect Will offers further details that explain their non genuinity; or that other members step in to opine in this subject.

[Raf]

Admittedly the quality doesn't look great and the stamped (?) Tower difficult to account for . But . A lot of Scottish pistols were in fact made in Birmingham . Bissel was prolific maker . Paradoxically a lot of modern reproductions copy Bissel type pistols from the 1770s because they are relatively plain and easier to reproduce than the engraved Scottish examples. The attached shows a late pistol by Bissel which like the pistols under discussion has a military style ring neck cock and the later style of cock spur. It's from Edinburgh castle so I think we can assume it's authentic. The two screws visible behind the cock of the pistols under discussion follow nineteenth century practice. Scottish style flintlocks with German silver stocks were being made in Birmingham the 1850s so we can assume these were regimental regalia following the fashion for all things Scottish in the early victorian period. What looks like a 2 on one pistol might have some regimental significance . On balance I can't see why these are not nineteenth century Birmingham made pistols possibly slightly out of period . Probably irrelevant but the old name for the Birmingham proof house was the Tower.

[Fernando K]

Hello
Would there be any test punch in the barrels? Would you need a photo of the interior of the lock
Affectionately