Geologyhound
Well-known member
I went out to a “new to me site” over the weekend and found a bit of an eclectic mixture of items. All these years of hunting and I have never found a silver quarter outside of a seeded hunt. So I am very pleased with the 47 Washington. This place apparently gets brush hogged occasionally and some of the items show it. The chewed-up Fangburger token is from Burger Chef restaurants perhaps around the 1970s. I would guess the fly fishing reel and the tape measure are more recent. The tootsie toy wrecker may date from pre-World War II. No idea about the screwdriver handle other than it is aluminum. The penny is a 1919 S. Had my heart skip a beat before I gently cleaned around the date because it looked like a 1909S…
However, the two items I am most interested in are the dome shaped thing and the piece I first mistook for pipe and dropped in my “Possibly not trash” pouch. This item appears to be lead inside a brass sheath. The lead appears to have rings on it like a Civil War bullet. The site is along General Morgan’s trail from the Civil War (with union troops on his tail). I know most of the Civil War bullets did not have metal casings but I understand Spencer and Henry rifles did. This appears to be half inch in diameter and what’s left of it is about 3/4 inch long. Could this be a remnant of a Civil War bullet still in the casing? Does anyone know what the spacing between the rings should be if this is Civil War era?
The other item which has aroused my curiosity is the brass dome shaped thing. It’s a little bent out of whack, but it’s about 2 inches in diameter or a little under and about 1.5 inches tall. There are slits irregularly spaced in the base. Some of them are a little ragged which makes me think it just broke. Others seem to be relatively straight. The base has a small flange like the dome was made to fit over the top of something. This makes sense, as there is iron rust (magnetic) attached to the base. I am guessing maybe some sort of hubcap cover, but the thought dancing around the back of my head is could this be the nose piece of an artillery round? Would any Civil War artillery have a brass sheath over the nose? Would any Civil War artillery shell even be shaped that way? Any help from Civil War munitions buffs would be greatly appreciated for either of these items.
I am posting this in the Civil War forum too.
Thank you in advance!
However, the two items I am most interested in are the dome shaped thing and the piece I first mistook for pipe and dropped in my “Possibly not trash” pouch. This item appears to be lead inside a brass sheath. The lead appears to have rings on it like a Civil War bullet. The site is along General Morgan’s trail from the Civil War (with union troops on his tail). I know most of the Civil War bullets did not have metal casings but I understand Spencer and Henry rifles did. This appears to be half inch in diameter and what’s left of it is about 3/4 inch long. Could this be a remnant of a Civil War bullet still in the casing? Does anyone know what the spacing between the rings should be if this is Civil War era?
The other item which has aroused my curiosity is the brass dome shaped thing. It’s a little bent out of whack, but it’s about 2 inches in diameter or a little under and about 1.5 inches tall. There are slits irregularly spaced in the base. Some of them are a little ragged which makes me think it just broke. Others seem to be relatively straight. The base has a small flange like the dome was made to fit over the top of something. This makes sense, as there is iron rust (magnetic) attached to the base. I am guessing maybe some sort of hubcap cover, but the thought dancing around the back of my head is could this be the nose piece of an artillery round? Would any Civil War artillery have a brass sheath over the nose? Would any Civil War artillery shell even be shaped that way? Any help from Civil War munitions buffs would be greatly appreciated for either of these items.
I am posting this in the Civil War forum too.
Thank you in advance!