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One of the great surprises of this carbine was that after its forearm was removed, it revealed a WWII vintage ten peso, Japanese occupation note from the Philippine Islands! How this ended up hidden under the forearm in between the barrel is truly puzzling – especially since Cambodia is a good distance over water from the Philippines. It may well be that this carbine was taken as a souvenir by a Japanese soldier in Cambodia or Thailand during the war who had been previously stationed in the Philippines and took an occupation note as a souvenir and hid it in the rifle. Other than this, it could be anyone’s guess!

This carbine was brought back by an Army officer to the United States as an antique war trophy in 1977, which is probably the first time this rolling block had returned stateside in over a century! The carbine is identified by its Cambodian Sanskrit markings, as well as the presence of a twelve-bladed “Chakra,” an ancient pin-wheel like symbol representing blades of fire. Most unique is that its chamber dimensions equate to an all-but-unknown .50 caliber rimfire cartridge with a case measuring 1.5" in length and a bullet diameter of .577"; aside from its length, it has a distinct resemblance to the .56-50 Spencer rimfire.