Salvaged Lead Bullets

[CWLeadManiac]

I'm new to ACW collecting and have seen several bullets listed on dealer websites as "salvaged lead". What distinguishing features do salvaged lead bullets have?

 

[Sowbelly and Hardtack]

@CWLeadManiac according to "Round Ball to Rimfire, Part Four by Dean Thomas, on page 208, these truncated cone cavity bullets were "made on Lehner & White machinery at Richmond."

 

[CWLeadManiac]

@CWLeadManiac according to "Round Ball to Rimfire, Part Four by Dean Thomas, on page 208, these truncated cone cavity bullets were "made on Lehner & White machinery at Richmond."

Thanks for the info! I've really got to invest in that book but then it would put a dent in my bullet budget.

 

[Rhea Cole]

Worth noting that during the Petersburg siege the A of N VA paid for scavenged bullets. A of the Potomac skirmishes & pickets were ordered to fire 100 rounds during their shift. The intent was constant pressure & harassment, not sniping. This policy resulted in rich pickings for the A of N VA recyclers.

As a volunteer at Stones River NB I got to go places no visitor sees. In the storage area of the museum there are five gallon buckets of found bullets. The maintenance people add to the collection regularly. During the metal detector survey of the site of a munition train behind the firing line on Dec 31, 1862 over 300 dropped bullets were found.

On family land north of Nashville the area around a big spring was a camping & skirmishing spot for Indians, long hunters & Civil War soldiers. Uncle Sam kept a sack hanging on the plow. As a teenager I couldn't lift the paint buckets of bullets he had.

The point being buyer beware. Anybody can mold & shoot lead bullets using an original mold. Antiquing the resulting relics is a simple process. A host of folks here on CW Talk can attest to the large number of shot impacted bogus belt plates that they have encountered.

There is no shortage of Civil War bullets. More are collected every day of the week. Collecting relics is a great hobby, of that there is no doubt. However, be aware that there are people who make their living making & peddling fakes.

 

[Sowbelly and Hardtack]

Thanks for the info! I've really got to invest in that book but then it would put a dent in my bullet budget.

A collector must invest in a good reference library. It's an absolute must.

 

[CWLeadManiac]

Worth noting that during the Petersburg siege the A of N VA paid for scavenged bullets. A of the Potomac skirmishes & pickets were ordered to fire 100 rounds during their shift. The intent was constant pressure & harassment, not sniping. This policy resulted in rich pickings for the A of N VA recyclers.

As a volunteer at Stones River NB I got to go places no visitor sees. In the storage area of the museum there are five gallon buckets of found bullets. The maintenance people add to the collection regularly. During the metal detector survey of the site of a munition train behind the firing line on Dec 31, 1862 over 300 dropped bullets were found.

On family land north of Nashville the area around a big spring was a camping & skirmishing spot for Indians, long hunters & Civil War soldiers. Uncle Sam kept a sack hanging on the plow. As a teenager I couldn't lift the paint buckets of bullets he had.

The point being buyer beware. Anybody can mold & shoot lead bullets using an original mold. Antiquing the resulting relics is a simple process. A host of folks here on CW Talk can attest to the large number of shot impacted bogus belt plates that they have encountered.

There is no shortage of Civil War bullets. More are collected every day of the week. Collecting relics is a great hobby, of that there is no doubt. However, be aware that there are people who make their living making & peddling fakes.

I can understand them faking big ticket items but I'd be surprised if counterfeiters would go through all of that trouble to sell a $10 bullet.

 

[Rhea Cole]

I can understand them faking big ticket items but I'd be surprised if counterfeiters would go through all of that trouble to sell a $10 bullet.

It speaks well of you that your opinion of humanity is so high. A fake bullet costs a few cents. Profit on $10 is enormous. A made up provenance boosts the asking price & on & on & on.

A well known appraiser here in TN told me that authentic CSA relics are less than one in ten of those brought to him.

I encourage you to find someone who is not selling anything to mentor you.