Strange Brass DBL barrel pistol

[mott5ranch]

At an estate sale this strange pistol was discovered in a small metal box. There was also a dog tag, a basic ribbon bar from WW2, a few knives and unit patches. All very common stuff except for this strange looking gun. Anyone ever seen this before? The trigger works both hammers. It it solid brass with pearl grips. Strangest of all it is numbered 9901200. Often the 99 and 00 are add ons, and this may be number 12 of production.
OK gun guys, any thoughts on this?

[mott5ranch]

The number

[mott5ranch]

underside

[mott5ranch]

Hammer time.

[Greg S]

Gary looking at the numbers they appear to be 0021066.

[Matt Weber]

Greg is correct. The serial number is 21066.

Is this an actual firing gun? It looks like something you would buy at a sourvenier toy stand. I don't think this is a real gun?
I used to have a toy gun that looked a lot like this. It would fire caps, but that's about it.

Matt

[John Hodgin]

Hi guys,

I think it's a real black powder derringer that would put a serious "hurtin" on anything at close range. Isn't it strange that it has a number but no maker?

Best,
John

[tankdriver]

black powder derringer

It is a real gun. Black powder uses precussion caps over nipples to fire. By looking at the nipples it is either fairly old or was shot alot and not cleaned well. There were a lot of different countries that these were made in, Spain, Italy, and Germany mainly. If you get a Sportsman Guide, FAC or simular cataloge you can still buy simular guns new finished and where you finish them yourself.

[mott5ranch]

I snapped to the serial number when I posted this morning, but I was running late and had to let it go.

The weight of this bad boy told me it was a real cap and ball. The firing tube (nipples) and hammer were also another clue it was a real deal. The brass it took to make this pistol would be cost prohibitive today. I also think brass is not the best metal for firearms, too much powder and the metal may give.

I know it's old, the pearl grips are also nice. I was hoping someone may have seen one of these before. I'm thinking it may an old "Southern Justice" piece. After the war between the states all pistols were taken away from the population. Many like this derrenger were hidden from the carpet bagger authorities. Only single shot long arms could be kept for hunting. No repeaters were allowed either. Derringers were popular because they were small and easier to conceal. This looks like another item of the past we can only wonder about. It must have had some value to the old owner because it was kept with some personal momentos.

[Eric Stahlhut]

I am with tankdriver. I remember seeing these for sale quite frequently during my wayward youth. I would have sent away for one, but I was able to get a PPK from my neighbor who was 80 years old and used to work at Hoechst AG during the war near Frankfurt as a chemist.

[mott5ranch]

I just heard from another gun collector and he says what you two do (Eric and Tankdriver) This gun is about 30 to 50 years old, and most of the brass ones were made in Spain. He also told me not to fire it! These were banned years ago because the brass will only take so many explosions and some barrells were better than others. No quality control here. At least I was right about that point. Thanks for the input guys. It's not a period piece, sorry to get off topic, I just thought I should post it and get some help. I did and I thank you. I'll stick it in a display case to never be fired again.