The long standing story is that their was a contract for 5,000 completed from 1863-65 and they arrived too late for the war. They went into storage and were sold to Bannerman's in 1901. The general belief is that none saw the light of day until then. There is another version that an additional 800 were sold civilian and were in actual use in the 19th century. One guy found an original that has notes in the grip connecting it to a Mass. civil war soldier who can actually be found on the rolls. I haven't found and reference to differences in the military contract and the extra 800