🥇 BANNER Civil War Sharps carbine bullets -- with intact paper cartridges!!

gtoast99

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Location
Virginia
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Minelab GPX 5000
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Relic Hunting
Hey y'all! I got back yesterday from DIV 32 at Cole's Hill. I had a blast digging with my friends again at a very special property to me. As for finds, I did quite well, especially on bullets. But my find of the hunt came just before lunch on the third day.

I was hunting an area with quite a few relics, all of which were super deep. So I was excited to get any nice subtle deep low tone on the GPX. This particular one, though, just kept going down and down into the center of the hole. Finally I reached the target - a Sharps bullet. But I knew there was no way I got a signal at that depth from one Sharps. Knowing there had to me more, I stuck my pinpointer back into the hole, and it sang.

I quickly pinpinted another Sharps, laying horizontally. As I pulled it from the ground, I noticed the round indentation where the bullet came from and realized that these bullets still had their waterproofed paper cartridges intact!!

I was able to salvage the cartridge from one of these first two bullets, and continued more carefully as I recovered the rest. In total I got 8 complete cartridges, one separated cartridge, and one bullet by itself, as well as several percussion caps. I would later see onli e original packages of Sharps cartridges, sold in packages of 10. So I'm assuming that an entire box was discarded or forgotten, and the deep red clay kept the waterproofed cartridges intact for 150 years.

I very carefully brought them home packed in native clay. Cleanup was a challenge, and I did the best I could with dry brushing and a toothpick. I then used a wet brush over the bullet part, as well as the sturdier cartridges. The reconstruction bullet leaked gunpowder around the rim when I was cleaning the bullet, so I know it mush have gotten a small amount of water inside. I hope that doesn't destroy it. Dried them all off with cloth and letting them air dry for a long time before putting the top of the glass case on. I did the best I could, now I guess time will tell how well they hold up. But they seem surprisingly solid.

This is easily one of the coolest things I've ever found. Of all the Civil War relics dropped, they have to be the right combination of cartridge and location to be preserved intact after so long. I have seen a few of the intact 58 minie balls online before. But for an already scarce subset of dug relics, the Sharps are even significantly less common. Needless to say, I'm over the moon with this recovery.

I hope you enjoyed reading (if you made it this far) and the pictures. Happy hunting and God bless.
 

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Upvote 77
Thanks y'all!

Two more additions. First, I've found tons of pictures of nondug linen Sharps and boxes of linen Sharps from the Sharps rifle co. But I haven't been able to find a single picture of a non-dug Johnson and Dow paper Sharps, or the box they came in. If anyone runs across one would they post it here?

Second, here is a picture of the dried out gunpowder from inside the reconstructed Sharps. I tried to burn some of it the other day, and while it did burn with an ember, it didn't flash. Every once in a while I could get a grain to flash, and it would shoot up like you'd see embers shoot up in a fireplace. I'm going to let it dry longer and try again to see if it will flash. I need to track down a dessicant pack to try and dehydrate it that way and see if I can make it active again.

Oh and as an update on the reconstructed Sharps, the paper is actually holding quite well to the bullet, and its quite sturdy. Except for a small tear, it would be indistinguishable from the rest of the cartridges, even when handling. So I'm glad II was able to recover that paper and reattached it in a way that feels quite permanent.
 

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Tony,

You are a relic digging machine that's almost unstoppable since you put that GPX 4800 in your hands! :notworthy:

I'll definitely agree this needs to be on the top.... After all, it's a partial paper artifact that has been the ground for 150 years! Awesome recovery! :thumbsup:
 

Oh.... I only wish I was there filming the excavation so I could see you studder and say "theeerrreeesssss p-p-p-p-aaaaapppperrr on it!" Lol. (Inside joke, folks)
 

man, that's beyond ultra rare. congrats, that is really cool!
 

Historic save. Had to be southern red dirt. They must have been covered up fast maybe in a muddy wagon road or collapsed trench. Good job on the restoration and preservation.
 

Banner find!!!!
 

Historic save. Had to be southern red dirt. They must have been covered up fast maybe in a muddy wagon road or collapsed trench. Good job on the restoration and preservation.

Yea, its a huge combination of factors that lead to these surviving. Had the be the right cartridges dropped, the Johnson and Dow appear to be much less common than the linen wrapped Sharps, and the linen would not have survived. (Edit: or another waterproofed cartridge like hazards) And it had to have been buried in the perfect setting. They were found deep in the red clay, which I'm sure provided a low oxygen environment that let them survive. And they were below the plow line so the cartridges never got damaged and the box stayed together as a unit.

I believe based on the location that it was probably dug as a small trash pit and then filled in. I only wish the soldier had dumped a few whiskeys or something in there too, LOL. Why it contained only the one box of bullets is a mystery.

I "theeerrreeesssss p-p-p-p-aaaaapppperrr on it!" Lol. (Inside joke, folks)

LOL I was thinking the same thing!!! I actually did get a bunch of this on film. I've got tons of old video to work up, but I think this will be the first one to relaunch the detecting Saxapahaw YouTube page. Although I probably won't have it done until the holidays, and the start putting out my older dig videos on a regular schedule.

You are a relic digging machine that's almost unstoppable since you put that GPX 4800 in your hands!

That machine makes a world of difference. Last time I was on Coles hill I think I got a dozen bullets. I hit many of the exact same areas this time, and had over 100. My dad always says, you've got to have the right tool for the job you're doing - and there is no better tool IMHO.

man, that's beyond ultra rare. congrats, that is really cool!

Thanks! Yea, there are a few Johnson and Dow three ring minies on the Relic sales websites out there, but they are certainly not common. I've only seen one other collection of dug Johnson and Dow Sharps bullets online, and they have only traces of the cartridge paper intact. And i still have yet to find any nondug j&d sharps or boxes. I've already been contacted by one collector who specializes in Sharps variants looking to add these to his collection, but they are not for sale at this time. And probably not ever unless I'm in dire straits - its unlikely I'll ever dig something like this in my lifetime.

But that's the beauty of the hobby! You never know what's in he next hole!
 

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Congrats on your banner, but more importantly, congrats on a jaw dropping find! Everyone raves about belt plates, but the rarity of paper cartridges makes them just as important and desirable.
 

Congrats on your banner, but more importantly, congrats on a jaw dropping find! Everyone raves about belt plates, but the rarity of paper cartridges makes them just as important and desirable.

I agree Dave. When I nominated this for banner I wrote in that this find holds significance with numerous T-net members that have found Sharps Bullets. It's something that most of us can relate to having found them. It's just mind boggling how that paper survived being buried, withstood the elements for 150 years, then was carefully dug. Wayyyyy rare!

Congrats on making banner!

Steve
 

gtoast99, Big congrats on a well deserved banner.

I typically comment once on a post that catches my eye. Somehow this box of bullets has pulled me in to post on it 4 times, with this my 5th time. For whatever reason I am in awe at this recovery. I am glad that you were the one that got this target and realized the paper was in there before they got destroyed. I can think of many ways the extraction and preservation of these relics could have gone very wrong. Great job realizing what you had and having the knowledge to find those little caps with the pinpointer. Had I found this I probably wouldn't have known what I had until it might have been too late.

Not long after I joined on here I saw this one recovered http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/t...ow-did-survive-150-years-virginia-trench.html with the intact power bag. However a whole box with paper intact is just amazing.
 

That is insane that they are intact, what a great find. Are you doing some research to find out the best way to preserve the paper?
 

Amazing rescue of some Great examples of Union Cavalry ordinance .
Outstanding relics !

Big Congrats

dawg
 

Congrats on banner. Well deserved. :thumbsup: Man, what an awesome save!
 

Sorry I just saw this post ,Can I still vote banner ?LOL

What else can I say ? (Amazing Find) , Great Job Digging , & Cleaning.

Just how deep were they & most other targets?

Also another Mental note on WHY I should get a GPX Series Machine.

PS, Is the Ground on "Cole's Hill" Pretty Hot?
 

Nice job preserving those Sharps cartridges!
 

Just how deep were they & most other targets?

Also another Mental note on WHY I should get a GPX Series Machine.

PS, Is the Ground on "Cole's Hill" Pretty Hot?

These were probably a foot and a half. The rest were in the 8-12 inch range in that area. The button backs that came out there were shallower. Elsewhere on the property it depended on where you were, depths varied. But most of it was fairly deep.

Yep the GPX is a beast. Highly recommended if you can swing it. I got this 4800 new on clearance from Fort Bedford, they are being discontinued and you can get a great deal on them while they last. Lead tones are easier for me to distinguish from iron, I'm still learning brass so I didn't do as well on buttons as some other folks.

Yes Coles Hill is some hot hot ground. The stuff on the very top of the hill near the house in particular was bad, but all the fields are some hot red clay. I have no idea how I used to swing the dfx in there and find stuff, but we work with what we've got! Lol!

That is insane that they are intact, what a great find. Are you doing some research to find out the best way to preserve the paper?

Based on talking to folks and a lot of reading, opinions are split between coating with poly or pva and just leaving them alone. I have decided to leave them uncoated and watch carefully. I can always coat them if I start to see any evidence they are deteriorating, but they seem quite solid right now. One thing I will do to preserve them is to keep them out of direct sunlight, as I have read that can be very damaging in the long term.
 

You've heard from me before, but just want to say it's very cool to see something on the banner from the CW which may not be as sexy as a sweet plate, but deserves to be there because it's so stinking' unusual to find/recover/preserve them so well! My hat is off, as others have said, that you didn't tear them up in recovery! Funny, but I bet every deep bullet you dig for some weeks . . . you'll be scratching carefully and looking for paper!!
 

Congrats on a stellar find! I know we get excited in Tennesee when part of a brass casing is still intact on a bullet but paper casing? WOW!
 

Congrats on a stellar find! I know we get excited in Tennesee when part of a brass casing is still intact on a bullet but paper casing? WOW!

Thanks! I'm still looking for an intact brass cartridge. It's been near the top of my wish list for a while. Paper, I didn't even put on the list as a possibility, lol. I did just put together my first reconstructed brass cartridges though. I found these Spencer bullets and casings at the same site at a div pre-hunt and worked the casings back into round to reassemble the cartridge. I think they turned out pretty good.

You've heard from me before, but just want to say it's very cool to see something on the banner from the CW which may not be as sexy as a sweet plate, but deserves to be there because it's so stinking' unusual to find/recover/preserve them so well! My hat is off, as others have said, that you didn't tear them up in recovery! Funny, but I bet every deep bullet you dig for some weeks . . . you'll be scratching carefully and looking for paper!!

Thanks! Yea I didn't find a plate, but these are just as good in my book! Well a Yankee plate anyways LOL! I'll be digging with a keen eye for sure haha
 

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