what kind of minie ball is this?

Another thought. If you are near Gettysburg you could stop at Thomas Publications, about 5 miles on 116 from Gettysburg towards Fairfield, and ask Dean or Jim Thomas.
 
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If you look at the cavity, you will see two "skirts" there were only two types of bullets that I am aware of that had these skirts, the primary being the Gardner, it would be impossible for a hand mold to make both skirts.

I finally found a picture of how the Gardner went through its cycle, 1) cast, 2) skirt lifted and 3) finally pressed down upon the cartridge.

View attachment 117268
thank you for that I wasn't sure more guessing on my part then knowing thank you.
 
Another thought. If you are near Gettysburg you could stop at Thomas Publications, about 5 miles on 116 from Gettysburg towards Fairfield, and ask Dean or Jim Thomas.
I never thought of that I just may do that when I have some time for a day trip. Thanks
 
The Gardner out of the cast had the open skirt... The paper cartridge wrap was wrapped around the inner skirt.. it was then placed in and pushed through a swag punch press... There was a machine to do this... this motion closed the outer skirt flange down onto the inner one.. securing the cartridge wrap in place.. also better insuring a consistent caliber measurement... which was a common problem with hand cast bullets.... The cartridge was then filled with powder and the open end folded and secured... This design had its pros and cons.. made cartridge manufacturing much quicker... but the cartridges were also noted to be a bit more fragile as the paper at the crimp could easily be broken...
 
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