Diane, following up on what George added to my original information I would guess it was made in the 1870's to 1880's. As George said, the BB's were not plated at that time and would have been loaded from the breech. Firing them would size them down somewhat to give a better fit to the bore. It looks like the hammer has a bad crack on the one side. I have no talents at all in repairing things so I am wondering if it could be rewelded if you chose to do that. I don't think the pistol has much value and is more of a curiosity so perhaps is not worth the money to repair. It is an interesting piece though.
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