Civil War Misc.

Teamroper

Jr. Member
Nov 10, 2011
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Found these items at an old Civil War area. It's been a hotspot for me with my oldest coin being a 1778-1808 Spanish Reale. I need a little help on some of the misc items I found last night. The one that really intrigues me is the spoon handle that is notched at the top. Anybody have any ideas what this would have been used for? Also the "pellet". It looks to be the size of buckshot used in shotguns. Did they use this size of shot during the Civil War? And last but not least is the round thing with "legs" right under the spoon in the pic. The only coins found at my honey hole were the 1926 wheatie and another wheatie which I can't read any date on. Thanks ahead of time for any info.
 

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really awesome finds! not sure about the spoon handle :icon_scratch: but yes, they did use pellets like that in the civil war. it was known as buck and ball.
they would load the powder, load 5-7 of the pellets, then load a .69 cal ball on top of it so it kinda had the affect of a shotgun.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Buck&Ball_musket_StormWreck.jpg

these were not issued to the soldiers so they would have to make them themselves by melting normal bullets and casting the smaller pellets.

again, incredible finds and HH
 

Generally in all buck and ball I have found 3 small balls and then the .69 cal one is with them. Ill have to dig one out of my safe later that I have in a small dish. It was found near a spring on my property where the union campsite was. I found them in the water and the paper wrap was partially still there. I believe the mud helped save the paper wrap and some of the powder. I have it in a small sealed dish with some water. I saw it on a show about keeping things that were under water for so long to keep them away from oxygen to make sure they don't deteriorate. Ill dig it out when wife gets home since she has the key to safe

image-3460102548.jpg
 

WOW! Thanks!
Generally in all buck and ball I have found 3 small balls and then the .69 cal one is with them. Ill have to dig one out of my safe later that I have in a small dish. It was found near a spring on my property where the union campsite was. I found them in the water and the paper wrap was partially still there. I believe the mud helped save the paper wrap and some of the powder. I have it in a small sealed dish with some water. I saw it on a show about keeping things that were under water for so long to keep them away from oxygen to make sure they don't deteriorate. Ill dig it out when wife gets home since she has the key to safe

View attachment 841236
 

Your welcome;) I've got a boat load of books at home if your interested ill send you a pm on the names and authors of civil war arms and ammo to equipment and personal belongings
 

The object under the spoon looks like a spark plug gap gauge, I would need a better ,closer pic.
 

Notched spoon

Found these items at an old Civil War area. It's been a hotspot for me with my oldest coin being a 1778-1808 Spanish Reale. I need a little help on some of the misc items I found last night. The one that really intrigues me is the spoon handle that is notched at the top. Anybody have any ideas what this would have been used for? Also the "pellet". It looks to be the size of buckshot used in shotguns. Did they use this size of shot during the Civil War? And last but not least is the round thing with "legs" right under the spoon in the pic. The only coins found at my honey hole were the 1926 wheatie and another wheatie which I can't read any date on. Thanks ahead of time for any info.

I've seen knife/fork/spoon sets that were "nested" together using a rivet and notch affair similar to this. They were modern. Does the notch look factory? Could be just a cosmetic design . . .
 

That's would be great. I know very little about Civil War artifacts and I'm afraid I'll throw something away that might be worth something, not that I would see it.
Your welcome;) I've got a boat load of books at home if your interested ill send you a pm on the names and authors of civil war arms and ammo to equipment and personal belongings
 

I've seen knife/fork/spoon sets that were "nested" together using a rivet and notch affair similar to this. They were modern. Does the notch look factory? Could be just a cosmetic design . . .
Definitely not factory.
 

No, it's not a spark gap guage. It's about 1/4" thick and has a bunch of small swirls in the middle of it. The coin to the upper left of it is a nickel.
The object under the spoon looks like a spark plug gap gauge, I would need a better ,closer pic.
 

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No, it's not a spark gap guage. It's about 1/4" thick and has a bunch of small swirls in the middle of it. The coin to the upper left of it is a nickel.



Is there any type of writing or markings on it, whats the reverse side look like? It almost looks like a shotgun cap thats a little worst for wear.
 

No, there's no writing and it's not a shotgun cap. It's solid, heavy and is plain on the back side. It feels like it's solid lead but I don't know. I thought it might be a gun part where the cylinder might rest up against it.
 

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