Greek Kariophili dated 1846

[cyten]

Picked this up recently, 31.5 inch smoothbore barrel, unsure of caliber because the crown is damaged and needs to be repaired before a measurement can be taken, but appears close to 12ga when compared. It is dated 1846 on the left side and I have seen others dated the same place.

[cyten]

Here are some barrel markings if anyone has any information, please share it.

[cyten]

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[cyten]

A lot of views but no comment, or guess?

[Ian]

Hi cyten,

Sometimes it takes a while for the right person to see your post and respond. You are asking for specific information about an uncommon weapon (at least on these pages).

[cyten]

Another look, perhaps some variation of the venetian lion stamp?

[cyten]

after some light cleaning, I discovered this other marking. It appears to be ۶۸ (68)
The stock is dated 1846, "68" could be referring to 1268 which in the Western calendar would be 1851-1852. A date of capture by Ottomans? If so, what context? I don't know of any battles between Greek & Ottoman forces in that time other than the Crimean War, but that started in 1853 & the Greeks didn't see action until 1854. Could be from confiscation of a Christian in Ottoman territory. The 68 could also be a rack number. Or the 1846 date could have been put on later and 68 refers to the year the barrel was made, but why hide the date by only 5-6 years? There have been some cases of Kariophilis that had their dates restamped in order to make them look like they were from the 1820's to get more value being part of the Greek War of Independence. I've not seen a simple double digit number stamped like this, the speculation is endless!