1873 trapdoor carbine what are these numbers on the side of the lock plate

[s7sams]

i have a 1873 springfield trapdoor carbine. have been trying to find some info on this old girl and it has a circle of 5s around the lock plate. what dose this mean? is this another put toghter gun from parts or? it is a low serial number 4 digits. any help would really help thanks i tried to take the best pictures i could. i have look on the internet and have yet to see any others that have anything like this on the side.

Information

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[RCS]

the serial number would not be on the lock plate, it would be on the top of the breech near the barrel

[s7sams]

it is not the serial number serial number is 4 digit and dose not have a 5 in it. there is just three 5 on the side dont think it has anything to do with serial i dont think

[browningautorifle]

There's been an obliteration take place there. Should there not be a year stamped? You can see the punch marks there and the number is there to further confuse the hammering...

[s7sams]

i seen the maybe punch marks i assumed they were pitting in the metal. it dose have the date on the breech but dose not have a date on the lock plate. some people to me it is not supposed to be one there others say there should be. not sure which one is right. of course these are local guys and i am not sure if what they are saying is fact or just there opinion. i have seen both way on the internet so which one would be right.

[browningautorifle]

If you look closely you can see the punch marks are obliterating something and you can see the remains of a number there. It was a date stamp that they wanted gone for some reason, probably to make the rifle more "Correct" with that lock.

[RT Ellis]

The lockplate on the Model 1873 series rifles and carbines was marked with the model year 1873 under the "SPRINGFIELD" marking, and no year of production was applied to the rear of the plate as in earlier government production arms. The model year was later deleted and no year was marked. Nothing was marked on the rear of the plate (where the 5s are on the plate in the images).

The Army Regulations indicated that arms would not be marked in any way by the using units, and most of the rack numbers on U.S. arms were likely added by militia units.

The 5s on this lockplate were probably intended to be a rack number, and the person applying the mark got the die wrong once or twice, and kept trying until he got it right. This was a rather poor place stamp as the internal parts assembled to the lockplate and the cuts in the stock are rather delicate. I've seen a lot of arms marked with number and letter dies but never before on the lockplate.

[s7sams]

a local guy the other day told me that he though the 5 s were a ranch mark. and he though it may be a cut down rifle for ranch duty. he said a couple things stood out for him one was the hammer was not from a early 1873 but from a later 1875 because it was not course enough. and that the front sight looked a little too tall. not sure if this would be right. but i guess it would make since. what do you guy think? ranch numbers on the 5s seems like it could be.

[RT Ellis]

From what you are showing in the images it could be a carbine or a cut down rifle. The breechblock is correct for the four-digit serial number you are reporting. The hammer has the lip that was intended to make sure the breechblock was locked upon firing, and lockplate are both later types. The substitution of the lock assembly was fairly easy and not unusual. The rear sight appears to be correct and if a carbine sight should be marked 1 through 5 on the right side and the leaf marked to 1200 yards. If a rifle sight the marks on the side are 1 through 4, and the leaf marked to 1100 yards. (the screws should be slot-less otherwise they have been replaced) The front sight base appears to have been replaced which would suggest the barrel was cut. Some other features you're not showing is the carbine sling ring (known as a "saddle ring" to civilians) on the left side. If not present that is another indication of a cut down rifle. The small of the stock is the long grip of the early stocks, so would be correct to the four-digit serial number range. If you want a better opinion provide a view of the barrel crown, the bottom of the fore part of the stock (the part that is rounded), and a view of the left side of the piece. Also what exactly do you want to know about this piece?

[s7sams]

here are some pictures of the things that you mentioned i think the stock round i guess is the front in front of the band. really just trying to get as much info on it as possible. the rear sight is off a rifle only goes to 4 on the side and 11 on top. but it is not mark with a r or a c. some one told me the first batch of the rear sights were not mark with the c or r but i since it is has marking for a rifle i think it is from one. the screws the last owner said he replaced. said he took the sight off to clean the barrel and that is what he put back on. the front of the wood under the band dose have a spot were it looks like it may have had a piece put in or repaired or something. but the wood appears to have the same look especially the end it is very dark in color like old stain or oil on the wood.