18th-Century Scottish Pistols
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GUEST:
I bought them in 1977 when I was stationed in the Navy in Thurso, Scotland.
APPRAISER:
I see.
GUEST:
And I bought them from a jeweler there. I gave him 500 pounds for them, which was quite a bit of money, which was close to $700.
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.
GUEST:
I wanted to take something nice back from Scotland, and I brought these back.
APPRAISER:
Well, you brought back a very nice pair of all-metal Scottish pistols. They're signed by John Campbell, who worked in Perthshire, Scotland. There were three generations of Campbell gunsmiths, and they worked from around 1710 to 1790. And they were excellent craftsmen. These are absolutely wonderful, all-metal pistols, and it's unusual to have a pair in such nice condition. And if you'll notice, they have the ram's horn butt here. And... They have the belt hook here, and they have wonderful baroque chasing. They're just... these are just magnificent. And the fluting here, and this is a typical trigger on a Scottish all-metal pistol. These are as fine a pair of pistols as I've seen, and you should be very proud to have them.
GUEST:
I did take them to a gunsmith in 1985, and he told me they were worth about $1,500 to $2,000.
APPRAISER:
I think that they're easily worth $12,000 to $15,000.
GUEST:
(laughs) Geez.
APPRAISER:
So, Sailor Boy, you did a good job. Wow. That was a good investment.
GUEST:
I think they're going in a bank now. Are they really worth that?
APPRAISER:
You don't want them to go in a bank-- you want to look at them. But insure them.
GUEST:
I didn't realize that they were that valuable. But I know they're very pretty.
Appraisal Details
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