From our huge private museum collection: 1876 Indian Wars Original 45/70 Rifle Frankford Cartridge Box Custer Little Bighorn. Many of the 7th Cavalry troopers in the Little Bighorn battle preferred to shoot rifle ammo in their carbines. Box dates January of 1876, a few months prior to the battle, and no doubt would have been one of the dates marked on the ammo boxes used at the Little Bighorn, Rosebud and Slim Buttes battles that year.  Remember, the 150th anniversary of the Custer battle is this month!
According to Charles Varnum, 7th Cavalry troopers preferred to shoot 70 grain rifle ammo in their Springfield carbines instead of the 55 grain cartridges:  Charles Varnum, who fought in the Little Bighorn battle stated: "Personally I think and always have, that the best guns in the hands of the Indians, were the carbines taken from Custer's men and the 70-grain ammunition they got from the same source. We took, at least I think they all took, rifle ammunition instead of carbine 55 grain. On the hill (Reno-Benteen hill) most of the bullets came in with a Zip sound (45/55). When a Zing-g-g sound (45/70) came, that made you take notice".

1876 boxes are about the rarest and most in demand of all the Frankford Arsenal cartridge boxes. Condition: This box still has the original complete opening string attached, which are often missing. The soldier who opened this box opened it by tearing off the end pieces, instead of from the top as is usually done. Perhaps he was in a hurry. Both small ends are missing. The cardboard dividers however, are still present. See photos showing the condition.

Please Note: We offer no paperwork, provenance, COA's, documents etc. with our items other than what is specially noted in the item's description. Also, please do not ask us to name our sources.

About us: Due to advancing age, we will be selling off our huge private collection. I’ve been collecting Civil War, Early Indian Wars antiques since the late 1960’s and it’s time to let go of things that I love (and find them a new home). The collection is primarily Custer’s Black Hills Expedition of 1874, Civil War, 1870s Indian Wars, Victorian, and Old West antiques. Over the next few months, we’ll be listing hundreds of rare and historical items. Many more great items to come. So, bookmark us and keep watching!

Terms: Items are authentic to the best of our knowledge (or they would not be in our collection) & as described, however, we can’t be an expert on everything, so not infallible. All items are sold “As is” with no returns; but if we did make a mistake, let us know (before leaving feedback) and we will try our best to make things right. After all, we have been selling on Ebay for over 25 years with an absolutely perfect record of happy customers!

Shipping: US (lower 48 states) Shipping only. No exceptions!  All items will be shipped insured. If your item(s) (single, or combined) value is $500.00 or more,  a signature will be required. No exceptions. We try to combine shipping whenever it’s possible when there’s smaller items of very similar size. But combining items is often not possible, as items packed together in the same box could be damaged. We want your antique to get there safely in one piece! Let us know what items you want combined and we will let you know if we can do it. We estimate shipping (and sometimes a couple bucks handling fee). Shipping is getting expensive, and there’s nothing we can do about it. All items are packed very well and shipped fully insured. Thank you!