Hi Kodiak32
You might have found this tidbit already but in case you didn't here it is, from a museum.
The gun shown in the illustration required
conservation treatment, including stabilization
and cleaning. It was thought by the
owners simply to be a trade musket of
British manufacture, andlittle else of histokal
value was discernible. The conversion of the
weapon from flintlock to caplock indicated
that it had been valued sufficiently by its
owner to continue in use long after its style
was outmoded. During treatment heavy layers
of corrosion were removed from the steel
barrel, revealing the stamps of the English
ordnance department and the crown of
King George IV. Above them was a fox in a
circle, the mark of the North West Tradin
Company which came into being after the
war of 1812. The barrel also had ‘London’
stamped on it. The lock, when also cleaned
of corrosion, showed the maker’s name,
Moxham. Thomas Moxham was a Birmingham
gunsmith who lived from 1762 to 1837.
On the left side of the stock, stamped into
the wood, were the initials ‘T.C.’T.h ese
were probably the mark of the maker of the
stock and possibly the person who assembled
the gun in Moxham’s workshop. The
symbol of a boar in a circle, also stamped on
the lock, appeared on all guns presented to
Indian chiefs in North America. Furthermore,
a blackened plaque on the stock
proved to be a silver cartouche bearing the
bust of an Indian chief. The foresight also
proved to be of silver. All these features
taken together indicated that the weapon
was a presentation gun, rather than one
made simply for trade. The process of
conservation treatment therefore enhanced
considerably the curatorial information on
the object, and increased its historical value.
