Hi everybody and thank you very much , it's very interresting to read your comments about my Spencer rifle . I can see that it is not easy to identify with precision my rifle , The model marking is the one of a 1860 model ( not NM - New Model , not model 1865 , not model 1867 ) and the rifle is updated with Stabbler cutt-off ( post civl war ) but the bore is a 6 grooves caliber 56-56 ... ( Flayderman's guide 9 th edition page 634 indicate caliber 50 rimfire ) ... something sound wrong somewhere but i know the rifle is in original condition and i'm pretty sure this rifle was sent to france for the Franco Prussian war . So to my mind , when the French government of National Defense make a deal with the springfield Armory in the urgency of the war going wrong for France , Springfield Armory send to France all the production of Spencer rifles with stabbler cutt off and also those with a transformation not complet ( bore ) ...
We have got in france a very interresting book called " firearms of the national defense and their bayonnets " with all the records of delivery , we know the name of the steamboats who crossed the Atlantic , the date of unload on ports and the number and name of rifles and carbines ( Spencer , rolling block , Sharp , Peabody , winchester 66 and many others ) , about the Spencer rifle ( army and navy ) and the carbines , we have receive 37071 Spencer carbines with 5367 Spencer rifles , and it was a melting of 56-56 and 56-50 caliber . The American weapons were not given to Prussian army , some of them were sold in France for the civilain market on year 1900 , the Spencer were solt 18 Francs . The others are missing , the " legend " tell they were immersed .