Albanian Tanchika

[rickystl]

Originally Posted by TVV

I do not think there is such a thing as "too many" tanchikas, especially if they are as nice as this one. Congratulations on a truly great piece. The barrel is most definitely damascus, and probably deserves to be etched, as it looks like a nice complex pattern on those sections where it is visible on the photos. It looks like an old Ottoman or Persian barrel, 18th century or older (per Elgood) and the rest of the gun certainly matches in quality.

Regards,
Teodor

Hi Teodor

Thank you for the kind comments. Yes, I'm really happy finding this one. Wasn't going to let it get away. LOL
And, thank you for your interesting suggestion. The engraving on top of the barrel is similar to another known Persian made barrel that I own. Also, the early Persian made barrels seem to have a different style of front sight arrangement, similar to this one. However, the rear sight is very typical of ones you see on other Albanian Tanchikas.
If the barrel is earlier, and was reused for this gun, that would answer another question of why the barrel has seen very light usage, but the lock looks like it's never had a flint against the frizzen. Even the threads on the top jaw screw are sharp and snug. No wobble/play at all.
I'll re-post the barrel only to see if anyone can reconize the damascus pattern after I clean it.

Rick