Ammo Collecting Civil War Bullets From $2 to $2000

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CW collectors, collect a host of different items from hats & uniforms, guns, buttons, artillery shells etc but by far I believe the biggest sector of collecting is the bullet. With over 400 different types of ammo used during the CW is offers a lot to folks who collect them. Recently one of our newer and younger members @Ethan S. started his collection of getting bullets from the different battlefields which getting all of them is going to take some doing but he is young. He put out a call to us here at CWT and I'm proud that some of our members stepped up and what we sent him got a good bit of his list. Young folks like him are the future of our hobby and passion.

An amateur CW archeologist finds more bullets that anything else because there were more bullets produced then any other item. You always see the jar full of CW bullets in the gift shop or antique shop in every battlefield town and they range from $2 to $5 but collecting CW bullets can be expensive if you don't dig them yourself. Recently a CW MINT Confederate Morse carbine rd sold for almost $2000 at auction and who said prices were down for CS items.

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photo courtesy of Poulins.
 
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Collecting bullets is one of the most fun, and rewarding hobbies I know. To date, I have bullets from:

Perryville, Chancellorsville, Fort Fisher, Shiloh, Vicksburg, Atlanta, Chickamuaga*, Stones River, Corinth, Nashville, Kennesaw Mountain, Kearnstown, Wilderness, Fort Blakley, Dalton, Petersburg, Charlestown, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg** and Sharpsburg. Plus, I have a jar full of bullets from unknown locations, that are variants.

I love collecting these battlefield bullets, because it is kind of like a monument to the soldiers who fought there. I never tire of bullets, especially fired ones. Fired ones are my favorite because the soldier took the time to load, aim and fire, to kill another human being. Morbid, but I love these things. The ultimate monument, is a good display of battle bullets.

*I didn't spell that right

** Bullet locations from Little Round top (soldier pickup) Emmitsburg road - Laws position, Culps hill, Fairfield road - position of 24th Michigan, two 2nd Corps hospital site bullets, and my newest addition, three ringer picked up from the wheatfield area, where the Irish brigade monument is, Iva Rosensteel collection.

Would I spend $2,000 for a bullet? Oh heck no, that's a lil' much. Would I like to have a $2,000 bullet? Oh heck yes, I'm just a cheapskate, lol!


By the way, I'm in the market for battle bullets... I do trades...

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Looks like a GREAT start to a life long collection. As far as trades go, below is the prize of my bullets collection. A CS exploding bullet and very RARE and only 100,000 were made and most destroyed. It is one of 3 found in the same hole at Vicksburg. Since my retirement I started a new collecting interest Benjamin's and I'll take 9 of them for it :D
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Looks like a GREAT start to a life long collection. As far as trades go, below is the prize of my bullets collection. A CS exploding bullet and very RARE and only 100,000 were made and most destroyed. It is one of 3 found in the same hole at Vicksburg. Since my retirement I started a new collecting interest Benjamin's and I'll take 9 of them for it :D
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I got 9 Benjamins total, so I'll have to pass one it, ha ha!
 
I got 9 Benjamins total, so I'll have to pass one it, ha ha!
As W C Feilds said. "Move along boy your bothering me" :D:running::dance::rofl: LOL I think thats the new thing so people know your just funnin them
 
I am thinking of starting a collection to add to the war display I am starting to put together in my new office at work. I noticed that there are supposedly certified bullets on Amazon. Has anyone purchased any of these? Does anyone know if they are legitimate? You have to start somewhere. Recommend or not recommend?
 
I am thinking of starting a collection to add to the war display I am starting to put together in my new office at work. I noticed that there are supposedly certified bullets on Amazon. Has anyone purchased any of these? Does anyone know if they are legitimate? You have to start somewhere. Recommend or not recommend?


I personally wouldn't do Amazon or ebay, though for a beginner, it might help. They jack up prices too much for my liking. If you live near a battlefield, they have them in the antique stores.

It depends on what you're collecting too. I love battlefield bullets, so I buy from good dealers with sound provenance on the items I want. If I want a bullet variant, provenance is not the main worry, but rather how cheaply I can get it. For a three ringer or a gardner, Ebay will work, just be prepared for fake provenances, like "Found at CONFEDERATE positions at GETTYSBURG!!" Avoid Gettysburg like the plague on ebay...
 
I personally wouldn't do Amazon or ebay, though for a beginner, it might help. They jack up prices too much for my liking. If you live near a battlefield, they have them in the antique stores.

It depends on what you're collecting too. I love battlefield bullets, so I buy from good dealers with sound provenance on the items I want. If I want a bullet variant, provenance is not the main worry, but rather how cheaply I can get it. For a three ringer or a gardner, Ebay will work, just be prepared for fake provenances, like "Found at CONFEDERATE positions at GETTYSBURG!!" Avoid Gettysburg like the plague on ebay...
I have often thought that if everything that is claimed to have been found at Gettysburg was really at Gettysburg, then the battleground had to have been covered with items to the depth of about six feet.
 
I have often thought that if everything that is claimed to have been found at Gettysburg was really at Gettysburg, then the battleground had to have been covered with items to the depth of about six feet.


I would only buy Gettysburg (or any high profile battle related artifacts) artifacts from Andy Keyser of Gettysburg relics, the Horse Soldier or the Union Drummer Boy, all three of them are shops from Gettysburg with online stores, and have good reputation. Andy has a written provenance letter, that he hand signs. It's rare to find someone that does that nowadays.

The horse soldier has many artifacts, but the prices are a lil'... well... pricey. But the selection is killer.

Union DB is another great store with many artifacts to choose from.


Other than that, I wouldn't put too much stock on ebay "Gettysburg artifact" descriptions.


By the way, I forget where I heard it, but I heard that over 1,000,000 bullets were fired at Gettysburg alone.
 
I personally wouldn't do Amazon or ebay, though for a beginner, it might help. They jack up prices too much for my liking. If you live near a battlefield, they have them in the antique stores.

It depends on what you're collecting too. I love battlefield bullets, so I buy from good dealers with sound provenance on the items I want. If I want a bullet variant, provenance is not the main worry, but rather how cheaply I can get it. For a three ringer or a gardner, Ebay will work, just be prepared for fake provenances, like "Found at CONFEDERATE positions at GETTYSBURG!!" Avoid Gettysburg like the plague on ebay...
Thanks for the sound advice. The nearest battlefield shop to me would be New Market. There are others nearer, but no shops or museums.
 
Of course, the best bullets are the ones you find yourself.

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My front yard, ten feet off of the front porch, lost by a member of Company M, 117th O.V.I.


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Jeffersonton Virginia. I found four bullets, and four lead case shot there. I also found 12 iron case shot.



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My first bullets. Found in the camp of the 77th N.Y. Vol. position overlooking the Rappahannock River.
 
@ucvrelics
"What surprised me is the carbine only went for a little over $11000."

I was bidding on that {Lot 3315} and the hammer price was $23,500.+ state tax + buyers premium. Granted 1st and 2nd models are scarce but that was quite steep $ for what it was.
Goodness, that is more than I paid for my first house; of course that was back when premium gas for my '65 GTO was 42 cents a gallon. And if you say it was steep, then it was defintely steep. Just out of curiosity, what would have been a good price?
 
Without seeing it.... I'd guess #319 was good at the hammer price without the added $$, tax and commission. Don't know who paid $2000 ++ for the Morse cartridge but unfired examples for the carbines, with the original seal around the cap can still be found for $1000.
 
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