While researching muzzle loading ...this popped up in an alert, which I found fascinating. An extremely rare rifle (one of three) was found at a barn sale nearly 50 years after it was stolen.
https://bit.ly/2PL6EeN
"A Revolutionary War rifle that was stolen in 1971 and discovered at a barn sale almost 50 years later is now back on display after being reunited with its owner.
"The American long rifle was made by Johann Christian Oerter, a master gunsmith in Lehigh Valley, Pa. It was made in 1775 and is engraved with Oerter’s name, the date and the location of his workshop – Christian’s Spring, near present-day Nazareth – on the top of the iron rifle barrel. The name “W.Goodwin,” likely the name of the original owner, is engraved on the rifle’s wooden stock.
“Only a handful of signed and dated American rifles from the Revolutionary era have survived,” explained the Museum of the American Revolution in a statement. “Oerter’s work is recognized by arms scholars as among the finest and most important.”
Betters pics and other links:
https://fxn.ws/34FNs6f
Who doesn't love a happy ending, but leaves you wondering. Where was this artifact sitting for half a century, and to what purpose?
https://bit.ly/2PL6EeN
"A Revolutionary War rifle that was stolen in 1971 and discovered at a barn sale almost 50 years later is now back on display after being reunited with its owner.
"The American long rifle was made by Johann Christian Oerter, a master gunsmith in Lehigh Valley, Pa. It was made in 1775 and is engraved with Oerter’s name, the date and the location of his workshop – Christian’s Spring, near present-day Nazareth – on the top of the iron rifle barrel. The name “W.Goodwin,” likely the name of the original owner, is engraved on the rifle’s wooden stock.
“Only a handful of signed and dated American rifles from the Revolutionary era have survived,” explained the Museum of the American Revolution in a statement. “Oerter’s work is recognized by arms scholars as among the finest and most important.”
Betters pics and other links:
https://fxn.ws/34FNs6f
Who doesn't love a happy ending, but leaves you wondering. Where was this artifact sitting for half a century, and to what purpose?
