# Coal and Iron pistol



## slakoper (Apr 10, 2009)

This one came out of a privy next to an old coal breaker a little while back . A little help would be appreciated.


----------



## hannahevan (Apr 10, 2009)

how old is it about ,couldve been used in a bad way and dumped ?


----------



## slakoper (Apr 10, 2009)

Heres the handle .It says F & W on top and a United States Shield  and what looks like a Sherrifs Star.


----------



## hannahevan (Apr 10, 2009)

Q :My mother has an older model handgun. It is a 5 shot with about a 3 inch barrel. It has F and W on it and a badge shapped insignia that has stars and stripes on it. It also has an 8 pointed star one of the screws. She believes it may be from the 30;s but not sure. Any help you can give me as to what make and model it is would be greatly appreciated.
 A :Without a bit more information I can't be absolutely certain, but I think what you have there is an old Forehand & Wadsworth pistol. Does it open for loading by breaking in half with the barrel moving downward exposing the cylinder? If so, then I'm pretty sure it is in fact a Forehand & Wadsworth. 

 Assuming it is, it was likely built in the late 1800s in Worchester, Mass and is chambered for either the .38 S&W (which is NOT, repeat NOT, the same as the .38 Special) or the .32 H&R Short. copied and pasted from elsewhere sounds like your gunthough

 At any rate, it's probably not very safe to shoot at this point. If you were interested in firing it, you'd want to take it to a good gunsmith first and have he or she look it over and make sure the frame, cylinder, barrel and lockwork can still handle the stress of being fired. Bear in mind, you may have a hard time finding boxes of .38 S&W or .32 H&R ammo for it, with the .38 S&W being harder to find as no new pistol has been built in that old cartridge in ages. 

 In terms of value, unfortunately F&W was only one of several turn-of-the-century gunmakers who were trying to capitalize on America's continued westward expansion with inexpensive handguns. Therefore, unless you find a serious F&W collector, it's not worth much. 

 You do, however, have an example of one of the ORIGINAL "Saturday night specials" and if you were interested in starting a gun collection, collecting such older "cheap" pistols is among the least exensive ways to amass a collection that may not be worth much, but DOES represent a piece of our history. 

 If you have any other questions, or if you find some marking on the gun that indicates it's NOT an F&W and want more information, please feel free to ask.


----------



## LC (Apr 11, 2009)

Looks like a break down model to me , most likely a 32 caliber .


----------



## capsoda (Apr 11, 2009)

It is a Forehand & Wadsworth 38. They started making them in 1880. The model you dug up is from the roaring 20s to about 35 or so. They also made a 6 inch barreled model for the army but during thee Boer Wars it proved inadequate and 38s were replaced by the M1911 45cal. When I was an aerial gunner in the Air Force they offered me the choice of an M1911A1E, an F&W 38 or a British S&W with a 6 inch barrel. I took the British S&W because it was easier to hit your target with.

 There are still alot of the F&Ws floating around and they are fairly inexpensive.


----------



## LC (Apr 11, 2009)

It sure looks to be the spitten image of the 32 I have made by the U. S. Revolver Company . I guess it could be a 38 caliber though .


----------



## Clam (Apr 11, 2009)

You might want to save the grips they might be worth something to a collector. They seem to be in good shape and probably would catch a few dollars at a gun show.


----------



## LC (Apr 11, 2009)

Thanks for the advice Clam , they are in good condition .


----------



## glass man (Apr 12, 2009)

WHAT SORT OF BOTTLES OR OTHER STUFF WAS DUG WITH IT? MAY HELP TO DATE IT MORE. FROM THE SHAPE IT IS IN I DON'T THINK YOU COULD BE IN MUCH DANGER IN TRYING TO SHOOT IT,EVEN IF YOU WAS A MIND TO TRY FOR SOME STRANGE REASON. LOOKS 30S TO ME THE TIME OF DICK TRACY.


----------



## digphilly (Apr 15, 2009)

we dug an 18th century pistol the other day...

 the front of the barrel is blown out but the grips are pretty well preserved.


----------



## Just Dig it (Apr 16, 2009)

Jeez man..I honestly hope i dig a flintlock one day..My gfs father found a mint luger in a wall he was patching as well as a civil war musket ball pouch with a brass plate on the front embossed (USMC) or (USM) i cant remember wich one..cool think is he also got a little box of flints...and the whole kit to make musket balls including a little wooden rack for them to dry on...It was his old bosses house...she let him keeo it all...Great finds you gonna attempt cleaning it?


----------

