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Winning Bid US $1575 First bid $1500 Quantity 1 # of bids 2 Time left Auction has ended   Started 2025-07-28 00:00:00 Ended 2025-11-21 22:35:25

Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company- Hartford CT, M1853 carbine ''Beechers Bibles'', Cal: .52, MFG: 1854-57, S/N: 11824, Capping Breechloader, 21 5/8'' barrel.

HISTORY: Originally patented in 1848, the Sharps rifle is one of the most use & well known breech loading rifle & carbine during the civil war. Designed by Christian Sharps (1811-1874), the 1853 is the 4th model of sharps rifle & the 2nd model to feature the slanting breech block & the sharps pellet primer system. The 1853 carbines have the nickname ''Beecher's Bibles'' after noted New York clergyman and abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher. Approximately 900 of these arms were shipped in heavy crates marked ''BIBLES'' for use by anti-slavery ''Free Soil'' settlers who were fighting against pro-slavery forces in ''Bleeding Kansas'' during the 1850s. One of the most famous Free Soilers was John Brown, who later used 300 Model 1853 Carbines in his ill-fated attempt to capture the U.S. Armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859. The US government ordered 250 M1853 carbines & they were issued to the 1st & 2nd US Dragoons on the Western Frontier before the Civil war. The majority of these guns were sold commercially with it being a favorite of state militias that could afford them. Sharps worked at harpers ferry in 1830 & would work under John Hall who invented the famous Hall breech loading rifle in 1819. He would work there for over a decade before forming the sharps rifle manufacturing company. His first guns I 1849-50 were made by A.S. Nippes of Mill Creek, PA. The Sharps company was formed in 1851 but was not ready to start producing guns just yes so Sharp entered into an agreement with Robbins & Lawrence of Windsor, VT to manufacture arms for him, they would produce arms for sharps until he was ready in October of 1856. Sharps would produce the M1853 until 1857 with approximately 10,500 guns made. RS Lawrence of Robbins & Lawrence moved to Hartford and became the master armorer of the new Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company in 1852. Christian Sharps was the technical advisor to the Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company & received royalties for his patent rifles they made. His relationship with the company was rocky & in 1853 he would leave the Sharps company & never associate with them again, making this the last rifle he had a part in designing.

CONDITION: The two-piece straight wrist black walnut stock is very good with some nicks, dings, & dents from use/age. Hand oil staining in common holding spots on the wrist & forend. Brass patch box on the right cheek of the stock. faint ''JR'' or ''JP'' marked on the left side of the wrist. The metal is slightly proud to the wood at the toe from wood shrinking over time. The metal has mostly toned to a chocolate brown patina with spots of gun metal gray on the right side of the receiver. Light roughness across the metal with more concentrated roughness/cleaned pitting by the breech. The upper wrist tang is marked ''SHARPS PATENT 1848'', & the S/N. The right side of the receiver is marked ''SHARPS PATENT 1852''. The bottom of the receiver is stamped ''B''. The top of the barrel, just in front of the rear sight, is marked ''SHARPS RIFLE MANUFG CO. HARTFORD CONN''. The Brass barrel band is missing the left side screw & is loose. The bore is good. It's bright with strong rifling but has roughness throughout. 6-groove rifling. The barrel holds a brass blade front sight with a fixed V-notch semi buck-horn rear. The stock carries a brass buttplate, has light dings & patina. The rifle has no sling mounts. A nice example of a early Sharps carbine. Antique, No FFL Req. - Value: 3000 to 6000

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Price

Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company- Hartford CT, M1853 carbine ... Item # 4437 This auction is over. No new bids can be placed. Price: US $1575

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