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A Winchester 1866 now formerly owned by Glennwood Swanson sold at Julia's Auction I believe in 98 for 675K (a record at the time for a Winchester lever gun). In that auction a 1873 Trapdoor belonging to Swanson sold for 250K, In another Julia's auction a Trapdoor Carbine went for 98K...

Now why did these guns sell for so much, they have FORENSICALLY been proven to have been at the Little Big Horn. Each guns firing pin and extractor leaves a mark that is as individual as a finger print. Swanson I believe was the definitive collector of 7TH Calvary memorabilia.

Glennwood told me that late on Sunday at the Beinfield show here in LV a young guy walks in and shows him a Trapdoor carbine that Glenn buys that has an "H" carved in the stock with "Martini" on the forearm....well that carbine was was for Troop H and Martini was the last white man to see Custer alive as he was given a message to deliver to Benteen. That carbine proved to be at the Battle and was Martinis carbine..put a price on that if you will... (it is tied to a specific individual who had a prominent role in the battle).

I have talked to most of the principles who did the Archaeological digs at the Battle, and Glenwood. I got to know them because I have a Big 50 Caliber Springfield (2nd Allin Conversion) that belonged to Saddler Otto Voit..who was a 30 year veteran of Troop H, 7TH Cav, being awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. He was at the Wa****a, the Big Horn Expedition, The Black Hills Expedition, LBH, Canyon Creek, Wounded Knee and finally down in AZ chasing renegade Apaches before retiring to Louisville.

The Dig guys and Glennwood thought I might have the Big 50 Springfield that belonged to Captain French...but alas my rifle did not prove to have been at the battle based upon the extant shell casings. A picture of my rifle now resides in the US Park Service file at the Big Horn National Monument on Otto Voit. It is what it is.