Pistol, coach pistol

This flintlock coach pistol was made by the famous London gunmaker Henry Nock. He became a Freeman of the Gunmakers' Company by redemption, in other words by purchase, in 1784. He later became Gunsmith-in-Ordinary to George III in 1789 and Master of the Gunmakers' Company in 1802.

Nock supplied guns to the Board of Ordnance and the East India Company. Like many military contractors he supplied the Ordnance system at the Tower of London from his factories in Whitechapel. Coach pistols were carried by coachmen for protection against highwaymen. The barrels were usually made of brass to prevent them rusting in the rain.