Rare J.R. Cooper’s Patent Percussion 16 Gauge Fowler. 32¾” Octagon to round barrel with ‘wedding band’ approximately 6½” forward of the breech. Bore is approximately 16 Gauge. Unusual action with outside hammer, which operates a center hammer inside the action. This hammer strikes the centrally located percussion nipple which is located inside the action. The nipple is accessed through the sliding top cover which is marked “J.R. Cooper’s / Patent /No. 155 (serial number)”. Receiver, upper tang, trigger guard, and hammer are nicely engraved. Metal is smooth with a gray/ brown patina. Half of a screw head on the left-side of the action is missing. The lower tang is marked “No. 155”. Butt plate is brown with light roughness. The bore is fine, and the action functions correctly. The checkered butt stock is soild with no cracks or chips but with the wear to be expected of an approximately 170-year-old fowler piece. The wedge fastened forearm is very good with an easily fixed 1⅞” chip missing at the upper left. J.R. Cooper produced a wide variety of firearms including: pepperbox pistols, rifles (some of which were breech-loading), and fowlers. This is a very unusual, rarely encountered gun.