Bullet ?

[kimonswanson643]

Me and my friend found these civil war bullets I would like some help identifying them please

 

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[duggap]

Your three ring bullet looks to be a .577 cal Minie ball from the civil war. The smaller bullet looks to be more modern, but I can't be for sure.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

To CORRECTLY identify a bullet, we need precise measurement of its body-diameter, in hundredths-of-an inch... because as little as .02-inch can make an important difference in the bullet's ID. For example, your larger bullet appears to be a civil war era 3-groove "Minie-Ball." In the photo, its diameter is a bit smaller than a US penny (which is .75-inch). That bullet COULD be:
a .58-caliber,
a .69-caliber,
a .70-caliber,
a .71-caliber,
or a .72-caliber.

Telling us that bullet's exact body-diameter is important because those different sizes were made for use in different rifles.... such as, yankee, Confederate, or French, Belgian, Prussian (German), or Austrian rifles which were imported for use in the civil war.

Without having precise measurement of its body-diameter, all I can do is compare its size in the photo with the nearby US penny, and make a guess about the bullet's ID. Its body LOOKS like a rare variety of Minie-Ball made for use in imported .72-caliber rifle. But IF your bullet's actual measured body-diameter is smaller, let's say .56-inch or .66-inch, it is a much more common variety, not a rare-&-special version of Minie-Ball.

I should mention, fired bullets tend to be a lot more difficult to correctly identify, because firing and ground-impact tend to at least somewhat change the bullet's size and shape. If you decide to measure your large bullet, please measure it where its body is still round (at the upper groove), not its lower body (whose shape is distorted).

The smaller bullet appears to be a (fired) .32-caliber pistol bullet from the latter-1800s or early-1900s. Firing smeared its body-grooves too much for me to be able to give you specific identification of what type of bullet it is (such as, a .32 Smith & Wesson revolver bullet).

Some friendly-intended advice, for your future posts:
http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/what/136849-please-read-before-posting-items-what.html

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Kimonswanson643 sent me a PM asking how to accurately measure a bullet's diameter, so here is a photo showing a digital caliper being used to measure a bullet's diameter, and another photo showing what the entire digital caliper looks like. You can a good-quality one for $15 to $19 at Home Depot, or at the Harbor Freight Tools website, or on Ebay. Spending $19 to buy a digital caliper is not a waste of money, because very-precise measurement is often needed for CORRECTLY identifying bullets, AND buttons, coins, buckles, and other relics. Trust me as a fellow relic-hunter, a digital caliper will pay for itself.