Bormann Fuse found yesterday!

[Lowryevans]

Found this yesterday while metal detecting for CW bullets. I didn't know what it was, so I sent some pictures of it to my uncle who says it is a Bormann Fuse from a cannonball. I'm not sure if it's Federal or Confederate. Maybe someone on here can tell me! Thanks!

 

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[CoilyGirl]

Awesome find!

 

[ATpro5]

Definitely looks "fuzeish" to me. Haha nice find

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

It is definitely a civil war era Bormann time-fuze from an explosive cannonball... and yours is a Confederate-made one.

Here's how to distinguish CS-made ones from US-made ones:
The small raised lines spaced along the inner edge of the "clockface" on the fuze's front designate seconds and fractions-of-a-second of time.. such as (going clockwise):
1-second
1-&-1/4 second
1-&-1/2 second
1-&-3/4 second
2 seconds.
The Confederate-made version always had two raised lines to the left of the number 1 (those two lines representing 1/2-second and 3/4-second). The yankee-made version had only one raised line to the left of the number 1 (that line represents 3/4-second). In other words, the Confederate Bormann fuze's time-markings "start" at 1/2-second, and the yankee version at 3/4-second.

Because yours still has dirt on its front, and some of its time-numbers are corroded, and you'd never seen a Bormann timefuze until you found one... here are some photos which show several varieties of them, cleaned up, and in unusually fine condition. (Most that we find are badly damaged from the shell's explosion, and/or badly corroded.)

In the photo showing six varieties, the top row is yankee-made, the bottom row is Confederate-made. In the photo showing nine varieties, the only Confederate-made one is in the center of the photo.

 

[Irregular]

It's looking Cornfederate to me by virtue of two time increments below the 1 second mark, but you'd better let someone along the lines of Cannonball Guy confirm that. The grey material looks like it might be a solidified powder train. If so I'd try to keep to keep that intact.

Regardless that's a very nice find, congrats!!!

Update: CG and I were playing unknowingly at the same time and he posted first. Great to see a confirmation.

 

[DigIron2]

nice one!

 

[scaupus]

cool

 

[Lowryevans]

Thanks to everyone for all the information! I'm going back to the same place next weekend and staying all day this time. Hopefully there will be many more relics to be found !

 

[collector01]

Great find! HH!

 

[CSA2K]

Awesome find!

 

[vpnavy]

Nice find! Thanks for sharing...

 

[Mach1Pilot]

Congrats on a cool fuse!