Original 1861 Springfield musket worth?

[Rick the Librarian]

I'm trying to help an email acquaintance determine the worth of some fireearms he has. One of them is this original 1861 Springfield musket. I'll apologize in advance for the pictures, but thought it might allow you to give me a ballpark idea of worth. You can see the metal is decent (no signs of large areas of "patina" (AKA "rust"!) and the stock looks in good shape.

I may be able to get some better pictures, if that would help.

TIA!

Information

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[Embalmer]

seen them anywhere from 1200-2100 depending on condition, marked stock, ect

[threepdr]

Rick,

Even with some discoloring of the metal, it looks like a crisp specimen. Is there a clear cartouch on the left side?

It is sort of hard to find an 1861 dated Springfield in that condition.

Do you have a pic of the rear sight. There were some changes to the sight design early in 1861. It would be interesting to see if yours is the first style.

Mark Hubbs
Huntsville, AL

[tbeck]

Two things to look for on your friend's '61. Very early ones used '55 tape cutter hammers and rear sights with no side ears. This '61 isn't as nice as yours, but it has both features. Note the sharp edge under the hammer nose (sorry it's hard to see here) and the early rear sight.

[jjroth]

in Gettysburg, Pa.
They'll should be able to indicate what's current.

very nice for age!