projectile (please help)?

[bergie]

Please let me know if you can identify this projectile or the era. You'll see it's rounded at top and hollow back, around the size and shape of a very thick/fat thumb, but not as long. I live in Rev. war area of NY. It may be lead, but is not as weathered as the musketballs I find here. Liberty Quarter found elsewhere (just for size). Thanks very much. I found one other of these and a couple flattened ones.

 

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[bergie]

Thanks all--great help on this board. FYI--this is more from the firearm's expert once I emailed him the photo...

Man, seeing the picture is even more puzzling. I don't know why, but it sort of "looks" civil war to me -- though that is just my gut reaction with absolutely nothing to base it on.

That hole is deep, too -- not what I expected. It looks somewhat like a shotgun slug (which I believe someone mentioned), but it would be a whale of a gauge. And usually the "rifling" on those is more of a collection of slanted ridges along the circumference -- the barrel itself is not rifled in shotguns with the exception of a few modern guns designed just for shooting slugs.

Is the object lead? It almost looks like rust (or bronze) on it. If it were bronze or steel, then you might actually be looking at some sort of tool or part of a machine -- though what appears to be rifling argues against that.

The rim on the rear is interesting.... Is it possible you have HALF a projectile and the other half fit onto it? In such a case the hollow might have been filled with -- explosive? Yet for it to be apart argues against that as well.

I don't know -- totally perplexed. Let me know (if you would be so kind) if this mystery is solved to your satisfaction as I would certainly like to know what this is.

 

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[rck_1]

Bergie,
This is just a thought. could it be part of a musket ball mold?

 

[bergie]

Hey, that could be it. I don't know anything about musketball molds, but a musketball seems about the right size to come out of the hollow in this thing. I did find this in an area where there were musketballs. Anyone have a photo of one or ever seen one? (Then again, I found one of these smashed as if it had been fired into a rock, unless it was just melted.)

 

[Diane L.]

Eastern Western Magazine and Lost treasure has lots oif those pictures..Go to there net sites and look it up in there question and answer site. and finds araea..also go to civil war internet sites, there you will find lots of infromation also.Look up muskitballs of the civil war time ect.

 

[True_Metal]

Good thinking, but i doubt it is a mold as it is lead itself and when the hot lead for the ball would be poured into it, it would adhere and fuse to it and you wouldnt be able to get the finished musketball out. All the bullet molds i have seen are cast aluminm as they can take alot of heat, but back then i would imagine they were made from steel.

 

[True_Metal]

Here is some old era bullet molds including round ball musket types. Scroll down to # BM5. That is a Rev War era ball mould/mold.?

http://www.collectorsnet.com/uncledv/bullm.htm

 

[Gribnitz]

Post a couple pics here http://www.thetreasuredepot.com/cgi-bin/relic/relic_config.pl? and see what you get. There is a ton of knowledge at this site.

 

[mavrick03]

i definitely do not think its a bullet mold there is rifling on top of it so its a projectile of some sort
of course i am looking at it the way it is but if i had a better view maybe something different would come to mind





Mav