Sometimes we are surprised about the pieces that we trip over.

[drm3m]

Thanks cigar_man for your help.

Today I took more photos of this P53 Enfield #1121 and sent them to Bill Adams.
He is doing an exibition at a show and will get back to me when he returns home.

Some of these markings on the rear sight and front barrel band I had not noticed before.
In 1994 when I got this gun I guess that I was in a hurry with my photos.



















The sling is not a correct CW sling for this P53 but I found some markings on it today.
I got the sling back in 1994 from the (dealer) seller of this P53.
Little did he know back then that this P53 Enfield rifle musket 'may have had' a CS history????



Comments from Bill;

The sling on this P53 is a later pattern sling. The correct sling would have an adjusting buckle and would not be fastened with a thong. Correct P53 slings are quite rare.

Very few correct slings for the P53 turn up. I have seen several on DC diamond Canadian Snider conversions. Apparently the original slings were kept with them. Collectors in the US have been duped into believing that the Martini & Lee-Enfield & SMLE slings were P53 slings.

Just for reference, P53 slings had buckles and did not tie on with a thong - those sliding loop slings came in after 1865 and were used up through WWII. You can probably find a real P53 sling in Canada - they are super rare.

David

 

[drm3m]

Bill just came back from one show and is packing up to go to the Gettysburg show this weekend.

I had sent him some recent photos of this gun and this was his response.

Your Enfield was a definite CS purchase; the engraved numbers and the remnant of the JS Anchor stamp confirm that.

This was another photo that I sent him regarding the stock markings that had not been scraped.



1121 could have been scraped down a hundred years ago. Those markings opposite the lock may have been intentional or not. The stock was apparently refinished at some point and it is possible that it was refinished in order to sell it. Even the Springfield Armory refinished Confederate arms and sold them in the 1870's and 1880's.

Some of Bill's photos from the last show where he had an exibit of Confederate stuff in his collection.
Hartford Gun Show-June 21- 22nd 2014-Sturbridge; MA.







David

 

[RRCo.]

Odd, as I see an Anchor, with the bottom towards the brass plate in that pic. Looks to be an "S" stamped above it to the right.

You do not see that?

I comment because I looked at the picture and saw it, before reading the comment that there was not one there. Huh?

Cheers
Trev

I see it as well, quite clearly, and did when I first looked at that photo (not to blow my own horn, but just to emphasize how clear it is)

 

[drm3m]

When Bill told me he was preparing to leave for the Gettysburg show this weekend where he is doing another Confederate Arms exhibit it reminded me of my visit to that show.

On June 24 2001 I attended the Gettysburg show---the only U.S. show that I ever attended.
I purchased my best '60 Colt Army from a very nice fellow by the name of Fred Wilkens---from NY as I remember.

He had a table at the Gettysburg show for many years as I recall.(His wife helped him at his table)
A wise older gentleman (I don't know if he is still alive).

I remember him commenting on the prices that some dealers were asking for their pieces-----they are crazy---they are going to be taking these guns back home unsold.

I also visited the Horse Soldier shop in Gettysburg at that time.

One of the things that I remember most about that trip was going up to 'Little Round Top' at 5 am before the show started and watching the mist rise over the battlefield.
Quite a moving experience for me.----I purchased the VHS version of the film Gettysburg shortly after that.




It was a pain in the butt getting the '60 Colt back across the Canadian border---it took over two and a half hours before it was confirmed that it was an antique and I had to scramble around in the Duty Free Shop to purchase a luggage lock as the gun had to be in a locked container in my trunk. (I learned what to do next time)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
My question to Bill after his exhibit at the most recent show.

I am curious about your sense of the appetite for CW pieces in 2014----are values going up or down?

Bills Answer;

You earlier mentioned value trends of 2014 - thus far, it seems that prices are dropping on many items. I was quite surprised at the show to see that some bayonets were increasing in value. Many Civil War muskets are selling now at the same prices that were common 10 or more years ago.

David

My purchase back in June 2001 at the Gettysburg show---an early 1863 mfg'd Model 1860 Colt Army.



The lead bullets shown in the photo below I bought from a fellow who bought them in Gettysburg years ago.
Supposedly battlefield pickups at Gettysburg.



I am curious to hear Bill's feedback following the Gettysburg show .

41st Annual Civil War & Collectors' Show
The largest Civil War artifacts & collectibles show in the nation!
Saturday, June 28, 2014 to Sunday, June 29, 2014
Time: Sat. 10am-5pm & Sun. 9am-2
Collectors Show Event
Thousands of Civil War artifacts and related items, including swords, firearms, clothing, documents, personal items, artillery shells, GAR and Confederate reunion medals, books, photographs, prints, cartes de visite and much, much more. Historical displays. Like being at a huge Civil War Museum where you can touch most of the items -- and purchase them if you wish.

Admission is $7 per day. Children 12 and under admitted at no charge. Want to be an “early bird?” Come at 12 p.m. on Friday, June 27, and a three-day VIP pass can be yours $100 and you can shop until 7 p.m. Friday –PLUS -- the pass gives you admission at the dealer entry time on Saturday and Sunday.