Manufactured as part of the first contract for these Model 1817 rifles held by Henry Deringer of pocket pistol fame. He manufactured 13,000 of these rifles in multiple variations between 1817 and the early 1840s, with this example manufactured between 1819-1821. The lock plate of this first contract rifle lacks the date found on second contract rifles made from 1821 onward. These arms are among the first widely issued rifled firearms used by any military and saw use into the Civil War era. This example has a lock plate marked "US/H. DERINGER/PHILADA" (The H is covered by the cock), and is fitted with a replacement dovetail mounted brass blade front sight and standard fixed notched rear sight. It retains its .54 caliber bore with seven-groove rifling. "GF" ahead of "P/US" marked on the upper left flat at the breech. Provenance: The George Moller Collection

Good as reconverted to flintlock configuration, displaying lightly polished surfaces with some lightly worn markings and scattered light pitting. Stock is fair as lightly sanded and re-oiled with scattered light scratches, some occasional chips, a spliced and repaired forend starting from behind the rear band, cracks on either side of the lock including a mild crack running from the rear of the lock all the way around the wrist and through the rear lock screw, and a crack on the bottom left of the buttstock. Mechanically fine.