This is an example of a scarce Cofer imported English percussion shotgun. Cofer of Portsmouth, Va. was a maker of Confederate pistols and is the subject in a segment of "Confederate Handguns" by William A. Albaugh III, Hugh Benet Jr. and Edward N. Simmons. A small part of the segment relates to longarms by Cofer which are termed "even more uncommon that his pistols." It mentions some of the long guns and this shotgun is identified by serial number stating that it is an imported English 16 gauge double-barreled shotgun which bears a full set of Birmingham proof marks and was probably made in the 1850s. There is also a photograph of the double ribbon marking on the top of the rib. The caption under the photo says in part "one of the best examples of this sort that has come to the attention of the authors." This shotgun was once in the collection of Edward N. Simmons, one of the books authors. This shotgun features Damascus barrels with a single bead sight on the smooth concave solid rib which is engraved with two banners reading "T.W. COFER & Co." and "PORTSMOUTH, VA." surrounded by floral scroll engraving. There are two gold inlaid bands on the rib extension and platinum plugs. The underside of the barrels are marked with the serial number ahead of the forearm and the full set of Birmingham proofs mentioned in the article are under the forearm on the underside of the barrels. The fish head motif hammers are engraved with floral scroll designs. The left lock plate is engraved with a field scene with game birds and a dog on the right side. The locks have a decorative engraved border and the rear of the locks have a floral scroll design. The trigger guard and lower tang are also engraved with floral scroll designs with a decorative front finial. The shotgun has the original ebony ram rod/cleaning rod with brass ends, (one end threaded for attachments). Mounted with a one-piece varnished checkered walnut straight grip stock with an iron shotgun buttplate. The barrels choke at a very loose cylinder and the length of pull is 14 1/8 inches.

Very fine. The barrels retain almost all of the original brown finish with almost all of the Damascus pattern remaining. There are strong traces of the original case colors in the protected areas under the hammers on the locks, otherwise the remaining metal surfaces have a smooth gray and brown patina. The stock is also very fine with 95% original varnish remaining and showing some scattered minor dents and dings with crisp flats and checkering. The engraving and markings are crisp and clear. The action is excellent.