Found buried in the basement

A resident in our town found this whatever-it-is and a number of bottles buried in his basement. Can you help identify what is beneath all the rust? Thank you.

 

A Gun?

 

Ah, yes, well...I should have narrowed the question to indicate he would like to know what kind of gun it is--or was.

 

I think you're going to have to clean it up some before I could even guess at what type of revolver it could be...

 

Dueling Pistol?

 

A cleaning up will reveal much, indeed!
my guess would be a WWI or WWII signal pistol, but I could be wrong!!
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Hi,
There are several web sites for using a battery and solutions to restore the gun. They reverse the heavy rust without ruining the gun. If you try and remove the rust on your own it will cause the gun to fall in pieces.
greg

 

There are two odd things about this item. The larger diameter to the end of the barrel seems to suggest a silencer,and the rust on the grip is odd, normally grips are wood or plasic covered, over a metal frame, not solid metal.

I dont think there is any point trying any form of restoration, but I would dig around a bit further to find the body.

 

I would guess it's a toy

 

Usually you don't bury the gun with the body.....but it's worth a look !!

 

More pix from different angles may be helpful but not much. As has been stated use appropriate techniques to restore or if u want quick help, find some biz that will X-ray it. Even low-power medical X-ray might show the true outline under the rust.

 

Thank you all for the helpful responses. The assistant editor for our local paper is friends with the owner of the items and is writing a story about the finds, so I will share your replies with him/them.

Oh, and I, too, asked about the body, but am happy to report they didn't find any...yet.

 

I'm sure the Glassies here would love a crack at those bottles !!!!!