US Springfield 1863 50-70 Trapdoor ML Conversion M1866

'm sure that many people have read how Springfield Armory developed the trapdoor Springfield action as a means of converting thousands of muzzleloaders from the civil war into breech loading rifles. Well this is one of those rare rifles. The lock plate is marked 1863, this means that the rifle was converted to breech loading by cutting off the barrel at the breech, threading what was left and fitting the barrel into the Trapfoor action. The barrel may have been lined from 58 to 50 caliber , or a new barrel may have been fitted. I just can't see evidence either way. Maybe someone with more detailed knowledge of the history of these weapons can enlighten us. I will update the listing when I learn more. I have learned that around 52,000 M1866 rifles were manufactured at Springfield Armory between 1867 and 1869. Approximately half this number were sent to Europe for use in the Franco-Prussian War. The remaining 26,000 (approximately) M1866 .50-70 Gov’t rifles were issued to units of the U.S. military, Later many surplus rifles were utilized by civilians in the American West. How this rifle escaped being cut down or “sporterized” is a mystery that will never be solved. This rifle is marked 1869 on the breech. This rifle has a good bore and shows no sign of being altered after the 50-70 conversion was completed.