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I have a 1884 rifle stamped commerce of Detroit, what is the significance of this stamp and were they shipped new out of the armory? Who would have used these guns if they would have a need to arm people with them?
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AFAIK: The rifles so marked were purchased by the Detroit Board of Commerce, which apparently was founded in 1903 (per Google search).
Purpose of arming some of their staff (?) is not clear - probably intended for riot/crowd control of some sort.
They would most likely have been obtained on the secondary/surplus market, not shipped new from SA. -
Would that have been a Bannerman Dick?"I was home... What happened? What the Hell Happened?" - MM1 Jacob Holman, USS San PabloComment
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All (5 or so) of the ones I've ever heard about have been normal rifles without any "funny" features, just the stamp on the buttstock, so no, I don't believe so.Comment
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I've been searching for information on the Detroit Board of Commerce (being a former Detroit native and new Trapdoor shooter) as well and found the below. It's not really helpful but gives an idea of what they used to do. My DBC stamped stock is on a mint 1879, S/N: 2704xx, mfg 1885 with a 1884 SWP cartouche.
"For those who fight for it, life has a flavor that the sheltered shall never know."Comment
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Al frasca states they were to guard the port during WW1. Remember the Germans did blow up a railyard in N Y or N J .Comment
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