Flintlock Hammer plate id

[Acagedrebel]

Need help identifying the maker and model Of this hammer plate it Hass the letters JC on one side and the Letters DG on the other side. Thank you

 

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[CreakyDigger]

That looks like a dog lock reproduction to me, but I'm not an expert.

 

[BAW]

Looks similar to a doglock, especially in the shape of the hammer, but does not have a dog on the lockplate or a notch in the hammer for the dog to engage. It is actually a flintlock made to look like a migulet lock. The frizzen spring (the long hairpin-shaped leaf spring on the outside of the lockplate) has been made extra long in imitation of the migulets' exterior mainspring, but does not function as such; the real mainspring is on the inside of the lockplate, as in a normal flintlock. If you can find a picture of the internal mechanism of a migulet lock in a book or on the internet, you will get a better idea of what I mean.
Migulet locks were commonly used on Spanish muzzleloaders through the 19th century and were adopted by the inhabitants of North Africa as standard. When Belgian gunmakers started taking over the African trade gun market in the 19th & early 20th centuries, they made locks that were technically flintlocks but which in appearance were similar to the migulet locks their customers preferred. Yours appears to be one of them.

 

[CreakyDigger]

Looks similar to a doglock, especially in the shape of the hammer, but does not have a dog on the lockplate or a notch in the hammer for the dog to engage. It is actually a flintlock made to look like a migulet lock. The frizzen spring (the long hairpin-shaped leaf spring on the outside of the lockplate) has been made extra long in imitation of the migulets' exterior mainspring, but does not function as such; the real mainspring is on the inside of the lockplate, as in a normal flintlock. If you can find a picture of the internal mechanism of a migulet lock in a book or on the internet, you will get a better idea of what I mean.
Migulet locks were commonly used on Spanish muzzleloaders through the 19th century and were adopted by the inhabitants of North Africa as standard. When Belgian gunmakers started taking over the African trade gun market in the 19th & early 20th centuries, they made locks that were technically flintlocks but which in appearance were similar to the migulet locks their customers preferred. Yours appears to be one of them.

Yes you are right. I see it does not have the notch that a dog lock has. Do you think it is an original or a modern reproduction?

 

[BAW]

I have not been able to find verifiable proof as to when flintlocks disguised as migulet locks were first made. I think it could not have been before 1850 or thereabouts but that is no better than an educated guess. I do know that they were used on African trade guns made in Belgium until the German occupation in 1940, and guns produced after 1945 continued to use them, but these may have been new old stock rather than new production. I would be willing to bet that this is not a recent reproduction, but a real lock made in Belgium for the African trade some time before 1940.

 

[Acagedrebel]

Thank you BAW you have just blowed my mind y’all never fail me I know there’s always someone with the knowledge to point me in the right direction .. Thanks to you all .. it’s been educating…

 

[Acagedrebel]

Great insight thank you ..

 

[ARC]

After revisiting this thread...

This can be solved... simply by the OP posting picture of the other side... (which i have no clue why there is not one btw)

It was suggested by BAW... that it may be a miquelet lock...

This is easy ... there will be the telltale “feet” at bottom of the cock that engage the external half and full cock sears.

So... there is that. heh

Personally i see nothing that suggests this.

 

[ARC]

Here are examples of Spanish miquelet locks...