Original East India Company Flintlock Saddle Ring Carbine – Dated 1798 Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. Found in our Nepalese “cache” purchase this was a total mystery until recently an EIC collector explained that this is an EIC flintlock carbine introduced around 1780 that started life with a 26″ barrel reference “SMALL ARMS OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY 1600-1856″, pages 206 to 224.

Something happened to this Carbine and it was returned to workshop in the late 1840s where the barrel was shortened to just 17.5” which was even shorter than the then the standard of 21” carbine length. At that time a swivel ramrod system was installed, again, to conform with the 1847-48 percussion cavalry carbines of the period.

Whether it was converted to such a short barrel length for some special application or that the barrel had been damaged so that only 17.5” of the barrel was salvageable, we will never know.

In any event, this is a truly unusual example of an early flintlock cavalry carbine dated 1798 having been updated approximately 50 years later.

The flintlock mechanism displays a somewhat worn EIC Heart motif across the lock tail along with the date 1798 and the lock bears the maker’s name of MOORE.

The rear of the 17.5” barrel which has British proof marks also shows the EIC Heart motif and the name MOORE 1798. The butt plate tang has a “B” over EIC heart motif, and the right side of the butt is deeply cut with “7/19” perhaps representing an East India Company unit marking.

A very unusual flintlock carbine beautifully cleaned to top display condition.

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