Yesterday w/ Mikeshayne... very odd civil war relic needs ID

[umrgolf]

First off, I need to thank BuckleBoy for recently ID'ing a civil war tompion in another member's post... I had dug one last Tuesday in the yard that had the civil war camp, but threw it in the junk pile thinking it was MODERN Last night I was at my girlfriend's place royally pi$$ed because I thought I had thrown it in the garbage

This morning I was very relieved to find it was still on my dresser with the rest of last Tuesday's trash



here's a non-dug I found on google





Back to yesterday- Mikeshayne made it into town about 10:30 and we headed out towards a spot that we had never been on, and had no idea what to expect... Within 5 minutes of getting out of the vehicle, we located a nice bullet "spill" .. A few other finds turned up throughout the day, but the one spot produced 40 dropped .54 calibers, 4 round .54 calibers, 2 colts, 1 teardrop, and 1 .69 caliber

Both of our finds




Mike's stuff




My stuff










7 of these bullets have these spiral grooves on them, ramrod??




very odd looking carved? bullet





and then finally, this relic has me completely stumped.. It has a black rubber insert right in the middle of the base

 

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[tennessee digger]

It almost has to have been used as a stopper. The rubber ring must have been put on it to prevent leakage. Maybe a canteen stopper? Very unusual and something the soldier had to have spent a lot of time doing. Just my opinion. Tennessee digger

 

[Bell]

I'm thinking barell protector/stopper. Perhaps the rubber is a remaining bit of some sort of strap he'd stuck in there to be able to pull it out of the barell. The carved one looks chewed by a squirel or rat, who later became very ill.

 

[pitdiggers]

That is an awesome artifact! You have all the parts to it as well which makes it all that more special. Are you using the fisher f75 by chance? If so have you used it in bad ground yet?

 

[BuckleBoy]

I don't know about the mystery piece, but it very well could be a stopper of some sort.

Glad you pulled that tompion out of the trash. It is a nice one, with part of the cork left.


Best Wishes,


Buckles

 

[umrgolf]

It almost has to have been used as a stopper. The rubber ring must have been put on it to prevent leakage. Maybe a canteen stopper? Very unusual and something the soldier had to have spent a lot of time doing. Just my opinion. Tennessee digger

That's a very plausible idea, thanks for the input... Im assuming this is a modified .54 like the ones I was finding in the same area

I'm thinking barell protector/stopper. Perhaps the rubber is a remaining bit of some sort of strap he'd stuck in there to be able to pull it out of the barell. The carved one looks chewed by a squirel or rat, who later became very ill.

Yes, you're right.. Teeth marks Poor Rat

That is an awesome artifact! You have all the parts to it as well which makes it all that more special. Are you using the fisher f75 by chance? If so have you used it in bad ground yet?

Fisher Gold Bug DP .. but I used an F75 for several years and it did not do well in the Red dirt in N. VA

I don't know about the mystery piece, but it very well could be a stopper of some sort.

Glad you pulled that tompion out of the trash. It is a nice one, with part of the cork left.


Best Wishes,


Buckles

Thanks again for caring enough to have someone else dig out their "junk" ... guess Im on the list now too

 

[Silver Searcher]

I to thinks it's a stopper, neat find very personel and like you I have thrown a few good finds into the junk buckets, that's why I keep them all in the garage

SS

 

[kuger]

Pretty led Jeff!!
B.B. will do that to ya!I have gone back to my junk buckets several times now,because of him....I never did find his last mystery piece(went to a lamp)

 

[mikeshayne]

Hey Jeff, had a great time yesterday and it never hurts to find a sweet spot so out in the middle of a field. Can not wait to hit the ground again while global warming makes this the best winter yet. I also have a few bullets with the swirl tops and I am thinking rather than ramrod marks the bullets show signs of having been "wormed" out of the barrel. Go ahead and attach a pic of your "what is it" piece too. I am curious what the group identifies it as. Till next time, take care

 

[Getty]

Excellent saves there Jeff! You guys done well!

 

[CC Hunter]

Nice CW rifle/musket tompion!

Finding one with remains of the original cork is quite unusual these days.

The 3-ring Minie Bullets with the spiral marks, have been pulled with a gun worm in unloading the weapon. This type of find, especially in numbers, is quite indicative of a camp or picket post site. With muzzle loading weapons that fire a ball or bullet, there are only two methods of disarming the gun. First option is to fire the weapon, whereas option two is to pull the ball or bullet with either a screw type puller (which actually screws a hole into the lead bullet), or a bullet worm type puller or extractor (that looks similar to a short spring with sharp end points). When in camp, especially at night when most are asleep or during the changing of the pickets, firing one's gun is not a wise choice for simply unloading the gun.

The following link is to an earlier discussion on the forum regarding pulled bullets:

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php?topic=370369.0

The "carved" bullet appears to have chew marks from the teeth of a small rodent. Rodents, as well as other animals that might root or burrow in the ground, have often encountered a stray buried bullet over the decades, and commenced to taking a few bites. In searching the swampy lowlands of the Southeast, I recall often finding bullets chewed by the wild hogs that actively rooted the forest floor.

CC Hunter

 

[CMDiamonddawg]

Nice J man , I agree with mikeshayne those seven spiral marked grooved minis look wormed out of the barrel . Tompian is interesting , even has the cork .. thats sick 8) never knew what those were I thought they were cork tops for old med bottles you keep slayin' those CW sites , well done my friend

 

[umrgolf]

I to thinks it's a stopper, neat find very personel and like you I have thrown a few good finds into the junk buckets, that's why I keep them all in the garage

SS

thanks.. yep, lesson learned

Pretty led Jeff!!
B.B. will do that to ya!I have gone back to my junk buckets several times now,because of him....I never did find his last mystery piece(went to a lamp)

very cool to know I have something else CW from that hunt I've never dug before

Hey Jeff, had a great time yesterday and it never hurts to find a sweet spot so out in the middle of a field. Can not wait to hit the ground again while global warming makes this the best winter yet. I also have a few bullets with the swirl tops and I am thinking rather than ramrod marks the bullets show signs of having been "wormed" out of the barrel. Go ahead and attach a pic of your "what is it" piece too. I am curious what the group identifies it as. Till next time, take care

I posted it in the What is it forum just a bit ago.. I was hoping to dig tomorrow but my salesman is taking the day off to take his wife to the hospital This coming weekend I'll be in Springfield... so, I can either get out next Tuesday or next Sunday

Excellent saves there Jeff! You guys done well!

Thanks

Nice CW rifle/musket tompion!

Finding one with remains of the original cork is quite unusual these days.

The 3-ring Minie Bullets with the spiral marks, have been pulled with a gun worm in unloading the weapon. This type of find, especially in numbers, is quite indicative of a camp or picket post site. With muzzle loading weapons that fire a ball or bullet, there are only two methods of disarming the gun. First option is to fire the weapon, whereas option two is to pull the ball or bullet with either a screw type puller (which actually screws a hole into the lead bullet), or a bullet worm type puller or extractor (that looks similar to a short spring with sharp end points). When in camp, especially at night when most are asleep or during the changing of the pickets, firing one's gun is not a wise choice for simply unloading the gun.

The following link is to an earlier discussion on the forum regarding pulled bullets:

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php?topic=370369.0

The "carved" bullet appears to have chew marks from the teeth of a small rodent. Rodents, as well as other animals that might root or burrow in the ground, have often encountered a stray buried bullet over the decades, and commenced to taking a few bites. In searching the swampy lowlands of the Southeast, I recall often finding bullets chewed by the wild hogs that actively rooted the forest floor.

CC Hunter

Thank you CC Hunter for the very detailed reply.. I'm still a newbie in most aspects and had no idea about the 2nd worming technique.. Thanks again!

Nice J man , I agree with mikeshayne those seven spiral marked grooved minis look wormed out of the barrel . Tompian is interesting , even has the cork .. thats sick 8) never knew what those were I thought they were cork tops for old med bottles you keep slayin' those CW sites , well done my friend

thanks Dawg, here's to more mild weather

 

[metalev4]

Some nice pulled bullets there Jeff. That camp should produce some buttons and brass. Keep us posted.
-Evan

 

[umrgolf]

Some nice pulled bullets there Jeff. That camp should produce some buttons and brass. Keep us posted.
-Evan

We smoked that spot pretty good for the better part of yesterday... seemed there was nothing else around

Thanks

 

[MKnTenn]

That lead piece with the loop could be a tompion also, but it would have to be for a smooth bore, measure the part that would have gone into the barrel and see if it is close the the bullets you found there. I found one that had rifling marks on it, you could tell it was hammered into the barrel. At first everyone said it was a stopper for a bottle, but after closer examination it was obvious it was a tompion, you could not have hammered a chunk of lead into a bottle without braking it. Hey get you a junk box and put everything you dig in that yard in it no mater how junky it might be. You will be glad you did later. HH

 

[sscindercoop]

Interesting relics

 

[ModernMiner]

Jeff,
Congrats to both of you guys. Nice lead haul, and some neat pieces too.
You have been tearing it up lately. How do you get your bullets to look so good. I use a toothbrush and water on mine but it never seems to get the darker stains off. Yours are awesome.
Great post. Very informative.
-Dug-

 

[romeo-1]

Cool finds...I love adding lead to my collection!

 

[Wldbil]

Nice relics and saves... Congrats