MARINE PISTOL MODEL 1763.
Short model 1763 of the first type (flat-body lock and hammer) of the first order (1769) of Saint Etienne (barrel dated 1770, on the left side 70). It is identical to the cavalry model, except that it is equipped with a belt hook and has specific markings. Lock marked "Manufacture Royale de Saint Etienne" in cursive, HB punch of the controller Honoré Blanc, in office until 1774.
Pistol made to arm the fleet of the Levant (Mediterranean) and marked with the arsenal of Toulon with naval anchor.
Until 1777, the year of the letters patent granted to the Tulle manufacture which became "Royale", weapons intended for the navy were produced in Saint Etienne. Those intended for the Mediterranean fleet were marked "Toulon", those intended for the "Ponant" (Atlantic and North Sea) were marked in the same way on the barrel: "Brest" and naval anchor.
The pistol presented seems to have had a long service because the battery was reconditioned (case-hardened) by welding a sheet of steel and repairing the wood at the level of the counterplate.
Following the setbacks suffered by the French royal fleet and also by the appearance shortly afterwards of models strictly reserved for the navy (model 1779 of Tulle), this type of pistol is quite rare.
GRIBEAUVAL
