Remington .43 Spanish three band rifle

pietro75

My uncle has a Spanish .43 three band rifle. On the tang is Remington and Sons Illion, New york, The last Copyright date is in 1873. There is a capital R on the top rear of the buttstock as well as a capital R on the receiver. The ladder sight has a 1234 on the right hand side. This gun has sat for a long time and is in good shape. I can't seem to find out about the R on the receiver. Any help identifying the arsenal and worth of this gun would be greatly appreciated. I will try to get a couple pictures by wednesday.

Peter M Tacconelli"What is popular is not always right, What is right is not always popular"

Iroquois Scout

Without seeing your Remington Rolling block it is hard to say just what it is worth. Remington made about 1,000,000 rifles for spain in the years 1869-1888. Remington also licenced several countries in Europe to manufacture the Rolling Block. There is some collector interest in the Rolling Block, but, the highest prices are for American military Rolling Blocks. Most European used Rolling Blocks will bring $200-$600 depending on condition. The only exception are the Danish rifles which usually bring $100-$150 more then the other European rifles.
Hope that this is of some help to you.
Scout

pietro75

Thanks Scout,
I will have some pictures on Tues. or Weds., My Uncle Don bowls on Mon. I am thinking that the R on the receiver will tell the tale on the worth of the gun. I just don't know? I have looked on picture identification websites and there is know comparison to this rifle. I believe that this is an American rifle. I will include that, this rifle came from Don's brother my Uncle Joe, who just past this Aug., we have no idea how this rifle came into his possesion. He was a traveler and we were not very close to him.

Peter M Tacconelli"What is popular is not always right, What is right is not always popular"

Iroquois Scout

Hi,
There are two things to think about in this case.
1.) The caliber tells us that this rifle may have been made in the U.S., but was never used here. The caliber .43 Spanish rifles were all shipped to either to Spain, Central or South America. Some Rolling Blocks in caliber .43 Spanish and .43 Egyptian were shipped to France in 1870 and used in the Franco-Prussian War.

2.) Your Uncle may have gotten his rifle this way: In the 1950's and 1960's there was an outfit in Virginia called 'Ye Old Hunter' who sold thousands and thousands of Rolling Blocks for $.97 a POUND!! Most of these were in caliber .43 Spanish. I know that I bought my share, swapping parts trying to make good ones out of bad ones.
In any case it is something to think about.
Scout