Bit of an interesting Lorenz story... My Austrian Lorenz rifle (stamped 860 on the lock plate) was dug up in the Arizona desert 57 years ago. The man who found it was a family friend named Spencer Galloway. Spence was an amateur archeologist living in the Tuscon, AZ area and he spent much of his free time wandering the old Butterfield Stage route across Arizona. On one weekend trip in the winter of 1961 he (almost literally) stumbled across just the top two inches of the barrel sticking out of the sand a little east of the abandoned Dragoon Springs Butterfield stage station. At first he thought it was just an iron pipe stuck in the ground, but when he looked closely, he realized it was the business end of a rifle. It took a couple hours to dig it out and as he continued to dig he realized it was buried almost vertically, as if it had been left leaning against the sand bank. After gently removing the Lorenz from the dirt and sand, he concluded that the bank just above it probably collapsed over the rifle many years ago. But because of the very dry Arizona climate, there was virtually no rust or corrosion anywhere on the rifle except for some minor pitting on, and inside, the top 2-3 inches of the barrel. It was also cocked and loaded, with the copper percussion cap still in place over the nipple. There were no bones, bits of clothing, or any other artifacts found around the site. When he got home he completely disassembled it, gave it a light cleaning, and removed the powder and bullet from the barrel. After putting it all back together he was delighted to find that the hammer, hammer spring, and trigger still worked perfectly. The rifle ended up standing in the corner of his closet for the next 12 years until I convinced him to trade it straight across for my Ruger Super Blackhawk revolver. Eventually I purchased an original leather sling strap and original Lorenz bayonet, and it now hangs proudly on my living room wall. I've had the opportunity to sell it a couple of times, but later research showed that this was the exact model, type, and caliber of rifle that was originally issued to my Great-Great-Grandfather when he enlisted in the 3rd Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment in 1861, and it has become the centerpiece of my very small ACW collection.