Skull Bullet

[Rhapsody]

Dug this possibly altered (heated and gouged with bayonette scabbard finial) sharps bullet from the US civil war today...pretty macabre and cool as heckfire!

 

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[Rhapsody]

Likewise.

IME, carving usually involves only removing material. Would a carved bullet have portions larger than the original diameter? IDK

I spoze it could have been carved after being fired/deformed.

None of the images of Stanhope bullets I find on google show bullets with portions larger than their original diameter. Same with other examples of civil war bullet sculpture.

I'm not seeing a skull either. Pareidolia? Civil War Era folk art depictions of human visages were pretty good--i.e. recognizable; I'm not seeing that here. Conclusive? By no means. JMO--ICBW.

my theory is they heated the lead by the fire then gouged it with the finial end of the bayonette scabbard but pure speculation...it maybe just a swine chewed or fired bullet but I love it anyway ..

 

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[Rhapsody]

It seems that one can take an object (this time a spent bullet) put a great story/providence on the object to garner another zero on the asking price.
Just because a spent bullet is dug in one location it doesn't mean it has the same history as all the others.
(your example vs the op's)

Now the OP's example is really cool and a question of was it spent/recovered carved/dropped recovered again by him is up for discussion.

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Totally agree Pepper I'd like to think was altered by heating then applying pressure (so reshaped prolly more accurate than carved and not everyone is a masterpiece artist...laypeople make things when bored also) but maybe some wild swine just chewed it perfectly ...I love it anyway its definitely different and differentness is killer imo...I would never sell it anyway the only thing I generally sell is modern gold and silver jewelry for gas $ so I can go to beach and find more

 

[devldog]

We have the same thought process concerning relics.

 

[Rhapsody]

We have the same thought process concerning relics.

sweet man T-net can be stressful sometimes pressure to get tons of likes and banner finds, etc so a nice comment is my favorite reward appreciate you keep rockin brother

 

[pepperj]

sweet man T-net can be stressful sometimes pressure to get tons of likes and banner finds, etc so a nice comment is my favorite reward appreciate you keep rockin brother

So true it can be what ever one what's it to be actually.
It's certainly a history lesson, the amount of stored knowledge that is shared within the readership that is readily available on a simple query, is also very rewarding.

Certain topics gain traction/while others just spin in the mud it seems no matter how much the OP put into the tread.

Query: You posted up the one side of the bullet, is there a possibility of having a few different angle shots of say the other side, and one looking down from the top.

I have dup lead pieces that have chewed, and the know markings are different from your recovery.

 

[Trezurehunter]

Very nice find !

 

[Almy]

Interesting bullet. I think I can see rifling marks on it from firing. The deformation of its top would have taken a lot of force if the lead were cool and solid at the time. It would have to have been held in something like a vice and that would have deformed the base. Lead does not noticeably soften when heated, until it melts and become liquid. So heating it would not facilitate making those deformations. When melted, the bullet would just collapse into a puddle. Considering all this, I think it is a bullet fired into something which deformed it. Maybe gravel?

 

[Digger RJ]

Dug this possibly altered (heated and gouged with bayonette scabbard finial) sharps bullet from the US civil war today...pretty macabre and cool as heckfire!

Nice!!! Congrats!!!

 

[Pumpkin]

Interesting bullet. I think I can see rifling marks on it from firing. The deformation of its top would have taken a lot of force if the lead were cool and solid at the time. It would have to have been held in something like a vice and that would have deformed the base. Lead does not noticeably soften when heated, until it melts and become liquid. So heating it would not facilitate making those deformations. When melted, the bullet would just collapse into a puddle. Considering all this, I think it is a bullet fired into something which deformed it. Maybe gravel?

Agreed. I used to do lots of auto body restoration, and lead was the seam filler on all those rounded cars from the 30’s-50’s. I’m also a blacksmith (iron and steel). You’re on the wrong track thinking about heating lead to make it malleable, as a smith does with steel. Lead and other white metals like tin and zinc don’t soften much before they reach their melting point and simply fall away into liquid. That said, lead can be scored using a fingernail easily, so this could have been manipulated cold. Was it intentional (a skull)? Nothing conclusive has been shown yet..