A matched pair of flintlock pistols made around 1800 for the Middle Eastern market, in .60 caliber with 12-inch barrels, offered as antique handguns under stock number AH8256. The locks and barrels appear to be European work. Each barrel is engraved and chiseled, with two shamshir-style swords cut along the top, and the muzzles carry silver end caps that double as the barrel fastening. The stocks are carved in high relief with scroll work and checkered; the butt caps are long-eared, Italian in style, with faces in high relief.

The seller rates the pair well above the usual run of such pistols, and the point is the decoration: engraving, chiseling, relief carving and silver mounts, all done twice to match. They belong on a Texas collector's wall or in a cased display, not at the range. Buyers of antique arms in the state will find the purchase routine; a licensed dealer takes photo identification and Form 4473 and runs the federal check, with no permit or registration involved.

Key features

• Pair of flintlock pistols, circa 1800
• .60 caliber, 12-inch barrels
• Engraved and chiseled barrels with shamshir motifs
• High-relief carved and checkered stocks
• Silver muzzle caps, Italian-style long-eared butt caps

The pair goes to the Texas FFL dealer you choose for the NICS check; handgun buyers must be 21.