.38 Caliber Hero Single Shot Pistol

Manhattan Fire Arms Company and American Standard Tool Co., Newark, N.J. Hero Single Shot Pistol. Made c. 1868-73 (possibly earlier); total quantity about 30,000. 34 caliber. Round, screw off, smooth bore barrels in various lengths with 2" and 3" most commonly encountered. Two piece varnished walnut grips, of bag shape. Blued with brass frames left bright, and case hardnend hammer. Manhattan product made without serial numbers, but numbers present on the American Standard pistols. markings noted below. Known as the "poor man's deringer" the hero pistol was believed to be Manhattan's last percussion firearm and thought to be brought out in their last year of existence (1868). Recent evidence tends to show that the date might have been earlier. The Bacopn Mfg. Company (see Chapter VIII-A) for history) apparently made a similar, if not identical, pistol that appeared in an advertisement by them c. 1861. Numerous unmarked Hero pistols may possibly be the product of Bacon; values for completely unmarked specimens usually slightly less. The American Standard Tool Co., successor of Manhattan, was set up to manufacture firearms and to make tools. it lasted only form 1868 to 1873. Pistols occasionally encountered marked only HERO without company markings are valued the same as the more common American Standard type. —Flayderman's Guide, p. 112.

Flayderman, Norm. Flayderman's Guide to Antique American Firearms…and their values. 6th ed. Northbrook, IL: DBI Books, 1994.