Z9045 Partial Mixed Box of Forty-One .56-50 Spencer Rimfire Cartridges
Description: Decent example of a .56-50 Spencer rimfire cartridge box, containing a total of 41 cartridges housed in six original sleeves. These cartridges were widely used during the Indian War period of the 1860s–1870s, particularly in the Model 1865 Spencer carbine, which remained in active service with the U.S. military and settlers in the American West well after the Civil War.
This box includes mostly C.D. Leet-manufactured cartridges, identifiable by their two tic marks on the head, along with a few examples marked by Sage Ammunition Works (S.A.W.). The cartridges are housed in six pasteboard sleeves—five sleeves contain 7 cartridges each, and one sleeve contains 6. They remain in as-issued condition, still coated in original lubricant that has aged into green verdigris, typical of long-term storage.
These cartridges represent the type used by U.S. Cavalry units and frontier settlers during engagements across the Plains and Southwest, making them highly collectible not only for their mechanical features but also for their direct association with a key period in American military and expansion history.
Each sleeve has been photographed and wrapped in polyolefin for protection. All are individually labeled for reference.
Due to the mixed nature of the box, each sleeve is described in detail below.
Box Condition:
Top Lid: Intact with original yellow label. All four corners are split, but the label is present and legible.
Main Box: Constructed of pasteboard, missing the bottom/base. Side walls retain portions of the original paper wrapper, showing holes, staining, and general wear.
Sleeve Conditions:
Sleeve #1: Full and correct pasteboard sleeve with outer paper wrapper. One end is partially opened, the other sealed.
Weight: 3,570 grains.
Sleeve #2: Full and correct pasteboard sleeve with loose wrapper. One end partially opened; the other partially sealed. Small tear along the side near the sealed end.
Weight: 3,356 grains.
Sleeve #3: Full and correct pasteboard sleeve with wrapper. One end is partially opened, the other sealed.
Weight: 3,562 grains.
Sleeve #4: Full and correct. Possibly produced by a different maker based on construction style. Pasteboard box with a top-opening lid, held together by a glued paper side band.
Weight: 3,372 grains.
Sleeve #5: Full and mixed. Primarily C.D. Leet cartridges with a few S.A.W. examples. Outer wrapper intact; one end is open, the other partially opened.
Weight: 3,416 grains.
Sleeve #6: Partial sleeve with six cartridges. The top is removable, and the remainder is held together by the outer wrapper. All side seams are split.
Weight: 2,922 grains.
Headstamp: Mixed, Mostly C.D. Leet production with two tic marks with a few S.A.W. headstamped examples mixed in.
Measures: T 4.25” x W 4.5” D 1.85”
Price: $750.00 UPS Shipping Required
Disclaimer for Antique Firearms
and Ammunition:
Americancivilwarrelics.com
strongly recommends that these artifacts be enjoyed and appreciated for their
historical significance and not ever fired. By ordering you are acknowledging
these facts, warnings and assume full responsibility for your personal actions
with regard to them.
We DO NOT sell modern guns, all our inventory will be Pre-1898 and are
classified by the ATF as antiques and require no government paperwork to own.
All ammunition is sold as
"Collectable/Display Ammunition" and is NOT meant to be fired. By ordering you are acknowledging these facts, warnings
and assume full responsibility for your personal actions with regard to them.
Thanks for Visiting!
Ian Workman
American Civil War Relics &
Military Antiques
