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Re: 1861 Army Questions
Can't tell enough from the pictures to make a comment. When you get the gun please take and post some more detailed pictures and we'll see if we can help you out.
Re: 1861 Army Questions
Besides the underside of the barrel, the serial number will be found on the lower, left grip frame, and the tab of the trigger guard. Just remove the left grip and the number will be on the bottom of the frame. Remove the trigger guard screw and lift the trigger guard up from the front and pivot it to the rear. You'll see the tab.
Re: 1861 Army Questions
The pistol is actually an 1863 New Model Army. The main difference between the 61 and the 63 is the frame shape and the notches between the nipples. The 61 frame is squared and goes to the front of the cylinder while the 63 frame is scalloped and the barrel threads show. Also the 61 doesn't have the notches between the nipples. Another difference is the loading lever and what's left of yours looks like a 63 lever.
I'm not familiar enough with the military acceptance marking to comment on them, the all military guns had a cartouche of 3 initials in a square, on the lower left grip.
Remington never threw anything away except their records. You say that all the numbers match, but the barrel has 2 numbers on it. My guess is that the 19,xxx number is the original barrel number because it is stamped in the normal position. Each numeral has been stamped over with a zero to hide the number. The other number may have been stamped to match the frame number, and it is in a non-normal position. This leads me to believe that for some reason gun number 19xxx was returned to the factory, and the usable parts removed. The barrel was then put on frame number 35xxx and the frame number stamped on the barrel.
The silver cone front sights usually weren't used on the new model. They look like an upside down cone, and are screwed into the barrel. The new model had a "pinched" front sight that was also screwed into the frame. Your sight may be a replacement.
I hope that this has helped you.
I'm not familiar enough with the military acceptance marking to comment on them, the all military guns had a cartouche of 3 initials in a square, on the lower left grip.
Remington never threw anything away except their records. You say that all the numbers match, but the barrel has 2 numbers on it. My guess is that the 19,xxx number is the original barrel number because it is stamped in the normal position. Each numeral has been stamped over with a zero to hide the number. The other number may have been stamped to match the frame number, and it is in a non-normal position. This leads me to believe that for some reason gun number 19xxx was returned to the factory, and the usable parts removed. The barrel was then put on frame number 35xxx and the frame number stamped on the barrel.
The silver cone front sights usually weren't used on the new model. They look like an upside down cone, and are screwed into the barrel. The new model had a "pinched" front sight that was also screwed into the frame. Your sight may be a replacement.
I hope that this has helped you.