1860’s Extremely Rare 7mm Pinfire 20 Shot Over-Under Le Faucheux Pattern Revolver (Belgian)

Description

An absolutely SPLENDID and unique piece of extremely rare history here!

Back in the days of the mid 1800’s there was a time period of innovation and creativity. Gunsmiths from far and wide were all trying to come up with practical and effective ways of increasing the capacity of their guns. All manners of fantastic and strange creations came out of this concept. From the volcanic pistols to the revolver rifles, new creative ways of achieving this were being widely experimented on.

This right here is 1 such example of mid 1800’s innovative ingenuity!

The Le Faucheux 20 Shot Pinfire Revolver first appeared in 1864 and was the brainchild of Eugene Faucheux. Eugene had been experimenting with higher capacity holding pistols for a few years by the time the concept of this revolver had been drawn up. It is an ingenious design with 2 over and under barrels & a double row of chambers in the cylinder. It has 2 firing pins on the hammer and 2 cylinder stop pawls, all of which work in unison to alternately fire from either the top or bottom barrels.

It is a known fact that these pistols were used during the American Civil war on both sides!

We must not forget the fact that this was at a time when most weapons were cap and ball. The thought of having a twenty shot pistol that could be emptied by simply pulling the trigger and then reloading in a minute was, to most, a miracle and would have essentially been seen as holding an arsenal in one’s hand.

This particular example of the rare pistol is not only stunning in its historical context but is also in fantastic condition!

Still functioning though delicate and with only faint signs of wear & age throughout its body!

The barrels have a triangular foresight and the pistol features an open top frame.

The side of breech is marked ‘E. LE FAUCHEUX INVR BREVETTE’ confirming its Belgian origin.

A hinged loading gate is present as well as the swivelling ejector rod. The hammer is of course double nosed to complement the twenty-shot fluted cylinder and the chambers in two rows.
The top row aligns with the top barrel and the bottom row with the lower barrel.

This pistol features a folding type trigger as well as chequered walnut broomhandle style grips.

Truly a remarkable piece that should be lit up on display! Fit for a museum but of course could be yours if you so wish it to be!