M1874 Gras bayonet paired to an early-ish production Chassepot (Gras-converted)?

[ColonelKlink1942]

Hey gang,

Back in March of 2022, my brothers and I went to a gun show in a nearby town. They went looking for ammunition and a rifle or two, I went looking for antiques. Being that it was a cash-only event, I was limited in what I could get. I didn't have enough cash to get an Arisaka bayonet (with unit markings and a quillon), but I could purchase this beauty, as it was the oldest of the bunch. This is the third bayonet I have ever purchased and owned.

When I got home, I began doing research on the markings to learn the history of this Gras bayonet. The markings on the spine of the blade read "Manufactured at St. Etienne, January 1878" ("Manufacture d'Armes de St. Etienne Janvier 1878" for the original untranslated French inscription). There are a handful of markings on and around the quillon and crossguard, which I haven't deciphered yet, and there are no unit markings. Maybe I can locate the serial number of the rifle online somewhere?

The serial numbers on the quillon and the scabbard match which makes me happy, but I initially had a brain-buster of a time trying to figure them out. It has an "A" block prefix before the serial number "1999", although St. Etienne used F, G, H, I, K, L, M, N, P, Q, FG, FH, and it was Châtellerault that used A, B, C, AB, AC, BC (I wouldn't have known this if it wasn't for Ian McCollum's work Chassepot to FAMAS: French Military Rifles, 1866-2016).

At first, I was absolutely stumped. Why was a Gras bayonet, made at St. Etienne in 1878, using a prefix that didn't match the block prefixes for that arsenal? I resorted to asking around and eventually landed on a Great War forum where someone else was asking these questions, and posed my own. One of the folks there quickly explained that bayonets were made at these various arsenals, but were often matched with rifles from different arsenals. They then mentioned that because of the "A" block prefix, it was very likely paired with a converted Mle 1866-74 Chassepot rifle from Châtellerault, and because of the "1999" serial number, it was likely a very early Chassepot prior to being converted into a Gras. It may or may not have taken part in the Franco-Prussian War in its early life, but I don't know for sure. I am also uncertain if the serial numbers are original to the M1866 Chassepot, or if they were newly stamped when the rifle was converted.

One thing is for sure, as conversions were taking place from around 1878 to 1881 or so, I suspect that this bayonet was among some of the first batches to be paired with newly converted Mle1866-74 Chassepot rifles. 

It's overall a very unique bayonet, and I'm glad to have found it. It's in very nice shape for its age. Photos below: