Lot 1320: U.S. Army Springfield Model 1871 Rolling Block Rifle

This is one of only 10,001 Rolling Block Rifles manufactured between 1871 and 1872 by Springfield Armory under a royalty agreement with Remington Arms Company. It is finished primarily bright with a casehardened frame and trigger guard and a blued rear sight. The right side of the frame is stamped with the eagle/shield motif above "U.S./SPRINGFIELD/1872", and the left side is stamped "MODEL 1871." The upper tang has the two line Remington patent dates marking, and the two barrel bands are marked with the letter "U". It has a folding ladder rear sight graduated to 9 (900 yards), blade/stud front sight, a bright cleaning rod, and is mounted with a smooth walnut forearm and straight grip stock with an oval "ESA" inspector cartouche on the left side wrist and an unclear square cartouche on the lower wrist behind the lower tang. The buttplate is stamped "US" on the tang.

Good. The rifle has an overall light gray patina with light spotting and pitting. The reoiled wood is very good with some minor handling and storage marks and some slight surface age cracks on the right side of the butt. The action functions fine, and the markings are crisp.