Small hunt but Big bullet...

[K1DDO1979]

More super cold and some snow on the way so i bundled up and went out in the freezing temps to dig where i could. No major finds today but I got two silver dimes (1968 50% silver and 1953 80% silver), three old spoons (stacked together in the same hole), 1867-1967 confederation medal and my favourite find for the day is a nice dropped enfield bullet with a number 8 in the cavity. I dug some others in the past that still have the plug inside so i may have other marked ones but i didn't take the plugs out to look. It was hard to get a very good picture of the inside but if anyone knows anything on the number please let me know. Thanks for looking! [emoji2]

 

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[weregolf]

Nice relics

 

[trapperart]

Congrats on your finds

 

[against the wind]

Congrats on some nice finds

 

[CRUSADER]

Basically the experts don't know what all the numbers & letters mean in the base. Here is a detailed reply from one of the US Leading Experts;

''The smooth sided Pritchett bullets are often encountered with numbers or letters in the base cavities. Sometimes, there is both a number and a letter such as L2; other bullets have various letters and some have star or asterisk designs. Some bullets have been recovered in America with US or CS stampings in the base cavities (there is some skepticism as to if the markings are original to the Civil War period). Bullets are found with the letter P, with interlocking P's, with q, with variants to include P., q., etc. There are at least 35 different base cavity markings known. The L markings include L, L . , L1, L2, etc up to L 12. Numbers such as 55 or 57 indicate the calibre of the bullet (not necessarily accurate designations).

There are several theories regarding the markings, but I am not positive that there is any period documentation to confirm any of the theories. Over 100 smooth-sided Pritchett bullets were recovered from the wreck of the blockade runner Modern Greece in 1962. Those bullets have several different cavity stamps. The bullets also varied in cavity depth, bullet diameters, and overall weight. Unfortunately, the team that processed the recovered bullets did not correlate cavity markings to the dimensions and weights.

Some collectors state that the base markings designate either the site of manufacture or the contractor or company that made the bullets. "L" supposedly signifies London, but would more likely indicate Ludlow, one of the large suppliers of ammunition. The other letter stampings allegedly are those of ammunition makers; however, the letter do not seem to correspond with the names of known makers. Another problem is that few ammunition collectors seem to know very much about the manufacturing process, and one of the primary reference works states that the Pritchett bullets were cast. In actual practice, most of the bullets were swaged. It would be extremely difficult to extract the bullet from the mould if the base plug had raised letters on it.

When the bullets were swaged, the base punch/ram that compressed the bullet also had the letter, number, or design marking on the end of the punch. That marking was pressed into the bullet. I believe that the markings on the punches were to designate specific machines, machine operators, or lots (by date of manufacture or by bullet size or cavity style). When a swage die became worn or a different contract was taken, a "dot" or number could be added to signify the change. The same base punch could thus be used again to identify a subsequent lot of projectiles.

Most shooters purchased their bullets. That was true of the casual shooter as well as the serious marksman. It was easier to purchase swaged bullets than it was to cast up bullets using the all-brass moulds that were generally supplied with rifles. A particular weight or base cavity type might have had a following - "I'd like 100 of the L2 bullets, please." "Do you have any of the heavy 25 bore bullets with the four dot cavity markings?"

The government bullets frequently had Broad Arrows around the rim of the bases, and some had WD markings interspersed with Broad Arrows. The British Army also issued a "rectifying machine," which was actually a press-sizer, to outposts that might run out of swaged ammunition and be forced to cast up ammunition locally. The sizer punches may have had identifying numbers. ''

 

[K1DDO1979]

Basically the experts don't know what all the numbers & letters mean in the base. Here is a detailed reply from one of the US Leading Experts;

''The smooth sided Pritchett bullets are often encountered with numbers or letters in the base cavities. Sometimes, there is both a number and a letter such as L2; other bullets have various letters and some have star or asterisk designs. Some bullets have been recovered in America with US or CS stampings in the base cavities (there is some skepticism as to if the markings are original to the Civil War period). Bullets are found with the letter P, with interlocking P's, with q, with variants to include P., q., etc. There are at least 35 different base cavity markings known. The L markings include L, L . , L1, L2, etc up to L 12. Numbers such as 55 or 57 indicate the calibre of the bullet (not necessarily accurate designations).

There are several theories regarding the markings, but I am not positive that there is any period documentation to confirm any of the theories. Over 100 smooth-sided Pritchett bullets were recovered from the wreck of the blockade runner Modern Greece in 1962. Those bullets have several different cavity stamps. The bullets also varied in cavity depth, bullet diameters, and overall weight. Unfortunately, the team that processed the recovered bullets did not correlate cavity markings to the dimensions and weights.

Some collectors state that the base markings designate either the site of manufacture or the contractor or company that made the bullets. "L" supposedly signifies London, but would more likely indicate Ludlow, one of the large suppliers of ammunition. The other letter stampings allegedly are those of ammunition makers; however, the letter do not seem to correspond with the names of known makers. Another problem is that few ammunition collectors seem to know very much about the manufacturing process, and one of the primary reference works states that the Pritchett bullets were cast. In actual practice, most of the bullets were swaged. It would be extremely difficult to extract the bullet from the mould if the base plug had raised letters on it.

When the bullets were swaged, the base punch/ram that compressed the bullet also had the letter, number, or design marking on the end of the punch. That marking was pressed into the bullet. I believe that the markings on the punches were to designate specific machines, machine operators, or lots (by date of manufacture or by bullet size or cavity style). When a swage die became worn or a different contract was taken, a "dot" or number could be added to signify the change. The same base punch could thus be used again to identify a subsequent lot of projectiles.

Most shooters purchased their bullets. That was true of the casual shooter as well as the serious marksman. It was easier to purchase swaged bullets than it was to cast up bullets using the all-brass moulds that were generally supplied with rifles. A particular weight or base cavity type might have had a following - "I'd like 100 of the L2 bullets, please." "Do you have any of the heavy 25 bore bullets with the four dot cavity markings?"

The government bullets frequently had Broad Arrows around the rim of the bases, and some had WD markings interspersed with Broad Arrows. The British Army also issued a "rectifying machine," which was actually a press-sizer, to outposts that might run out of swaged ammunition and be forced to cast up ammunition locally. The sizer punches may have had identifying numbers. ''

Great read. Thank you! [emoji106]

 

[NOLA_Ken]

Interesting post, for what it's worth I would be most inclined to think the marks are indicating the manufacturer and the specific set of dies used to press the bullet. It seems likely in my mind that they were more for quality control so that at the end of the day if there were bullets that weren't right it would be easier to identify which press they came from and make repairs or adjustments. That's just my thought though, and really unless someone stumbles across period documentation from a bullet maker with some sort of explanation we may never know. It's a neat mystery though, so maybe one day some collector will get it figured out.

 

[K1DDO1979]

Got this info sent from a guy...
"Cavity numbers between 1 to 8 were generally used by the Woolwich Arsenal in London for Enfield bullets produced for the British military and mainly used overseas during the colonial periods for Canada, Africa & New Zealand."
Where he got the info i don't know! [emoji2]

 

[Iron Patch]

I'm surprised you are getting out at all. Here we are still in full shut-down mode and as you said the days ahead look worse and not better.

 

[K1DDO1979]

I'm surprised you are getting out at all. Here we are still in full shut-down mode and as you said the days ahead look worse and not better.

Its horrible. Only certain spots were doable. All were pretty close to the shore and seemed only certain terrain/soil wasn't like cement. I had most of today off work but i didn't bother even trying to go out for a hunt because its so cold.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Congratualtions on the nice relic hunt!

 

[Iron Patch]

Its horrible. Only certain spots were doable. All were pretty close to the shore and seemed only certain terrain/soil wasn't like cement. I had most of today off work but i didn't bother even trying to go out for a hunt because its so cold.

It's been three and a half months now since IH and myself have swing the coil, and by the looks of thing it seems like it could be another month before the ground is ready. Hope not, but temps. way below zero and snow on the way isn't exactly the best combination.

 

[K1DDO1979]

It's been three and a half months now since IH and myself have swing the coil, and by the looks of thing it seems like it could be another month before the ground is ready. Hope not, but temps. way below zero and snow on the way isn't exactly the best combination.

I've been fairly lucky by getting a flukey high temp day or two with rain that gets rid of the snow and just makes it soft enough in spots to dig every week or two it seems. Like you said not looking great for the next little while though. I had a decent start to the year with some finds at least. I hope the weather changes better for us all soon! [emoji106]