Black Powder Derringer Appears to be old S&W model - Need Help from Collectors

[walk_the_walk]

This antique black powder derringer belonged to my grandfather and was kept in a glass case for years and years. I am not having a lot of luck identifying it and could use some help or suggestions from the collectors out there...

Near as I can tell it appears to be a really old Smith and Wesson derringer, possibly from the late 1850s??. I say this as some of the features on the handle appear identical to other S&W derringers and pistols from that era. The exterior of the barrel is round, and hexagonal on the inside. The serial number, stamped on the underside of the barrel, is 203. There are no other markings that I can find.

See pics in attached PDF file...

Any help would be greatly appreciated, even if this is not an S&W but some other model that looks similar. Thanks!

 

[alaskavett]

Welcome to the forum. It is not a S&W, nor is it a derringer. What you have appeared to be a possible Rollin White or Sharps single shot. There are no markings other then a sr # anywhere on it? Cool old gun anyway. Kyle

 

[opoefc]

As said above, it's not a Smith & Wesson. It's also not a Rollin White or Sharps, but one of the many types of single shot pistols of the early cartridge era, circa 1860s-70s, as made by several American as well as foreign manufactures of that period, such as Bacon, Ballard, Newbury, etc. Ed.

 

[walk_the_walk]

Thanks for the info - where can I find out more?

Thanks a million. The reason I thought it was early S&W is that the design around the screw holding the wooden stock to the butt of the pistol looked similar to some early S&W derringers.

I consider myself really good at Internet research but have been unable to find a matching picture of a similar pistol from the Civil War. Any ideas where I can find more info?

Sorry it was not S&W, but thanks again.

 

[walk_the_walk]

I found the site Civilwarhandgun.com and I see what you mean opoefc - there are dozens of manufacturers and lots of variations. They even note how Uhlinger violated "Smith's patents" with their designs, which had many variations.

I guess the fun will be in tracking down the origin of this one, and I was probably using the wrong search terms to boot...

 

[Alk8944]

The reason I thought it was early S&W is that the design around the screw holding the wooden stock to the butt of the pistol looked similar to some early S&W derringers.

Smith & Wesson never made any derringer type pistols either.

Cute pistol though, wish you luck chasing it down.

 

[BearBio]

Also, might try Flayderman's