Can Anyone Help Me in Identifying this Bullet?

Ripcon · Mar 17, 2019

I found this bullet in a Union army camp yesterday in west central Mississippi. It appears to be of pistol bullet size but what's unusual to me is the "tie base looking" bottom to the bullet. I've never seen a pistol bullet like this before. It's definitely unfired. Can anyone on this forum help me in identifying this bullet? Although I found it in a civil war camp, it's possible that it's not from the war. Thanks for any assistance.

civilman1 · Mar 17, 2019

I can't find anything that comes close :dontknow:

Closest is a Sharps but that is way off as well.Maybe carved is my best bet.

creskol · Mar 17, 2019

civilman1 said:
I can't find anything that comes close Closest is a Sharps but that is way off as well.Maybe carved is my best bet.

Could it be what they call a Confederate tie-ring Sharps?

Ripcon · Mar 17, 2019

creskol said:
Could it be what they call a Confederate tie-ring Sharps?

That looks mighty close indeed. Mine appears to be a .36 caliber or there abouts. I wonder if Sharps made pistols?

fyrffytr1 · Mar 17, 2019

There were two small caliber bullets made for Sharps. Your looks like a corroded version of the Gomez and Mills patent but I am not positive.
19th Century Bullet Collection - Tom Henrique

Ripcon · Mar 17, 2019

I’m wondering if this is some type of tie ring Remington pistol bullet. Maybe an early variation??

Joe-Dirt · Mar 19, 2019

I think the ring tail Sharpes is 50 or 54 caliber, I was leaning to the pistol ball theory, maybe one of the French pin fire guns or some other obscure weapon as just about any gun you could think of was pressed into service during the war of northern aggression. Maybe even a “cleaner” bullet, who knows. This is a job for cannonball guy!!

TheCannonballGuy · Mar 19, 2019

Joe-Dirt wrote:
> This is a job for cannonball guy!!

At y'all's service.

According to the "Handbook Of Civil War Bullets & Cartridges":
That bullet is a pre-civil-war .38-caliber Gomez & Mills Patent (Aug. 24, 1858) bullet for the .38 Sharps Sporting Rifle. Before that US Patent information was found, diggers called these bullets a ""Multigroove Ringtail Sharps." There is no record of any production of any caliber of "multigroove" Sharps bullets by a Confederate manufacturer.

Your .38-caliber Sharps bullet is shown in the Handbook as bullet #103.

The Handbook also says that during the 1850s (well before the start of the civil war), Sharps "Sporting" (meaning civilian-usage, not military) Rifles were produced in .38, .44, and .52-calibers. Also, in 1857 through '58, the Sharps Company produced a .36 Sharps Pistol. So, there is such a thing as a Sharps pistol bullet... which is shown in the Handbook as bullet #99.

Sidenote:
The Handbook shows ALL of the many kinds & calibers of Sharps bullets in a special section titled "Sharps Pistols, Carbines, Rifles, and Sporting Rifles, .36 to .56 Caliber."

For everybody who reads this forum… I often feel a deep pain in my backside when I see a photo/screencap in this forum which contains both of the words "Ebay" and "Confederate." Ebay is VERY often untrustworthy about whether a civil war relic is Confederate or not. Note, an Ebay seller's "100% Satisfaction" rating should never be considered a guarantee that the seller's identification of the relic is correct.

Sidenote for bullet-diggers and collectors:
As my posts here about bullets often indicate, there is a HUGE amount of very valuable UP-TO-DATE information in the "Handbook Of Civil War Bullets & Cartridges" (by James E. Thomas & Dean S. Thomas). The updated info makes this book far-far superior to the old long-outdated civil war bullet book by McKee & Mason. The "Handbook" can be purchased online from several sellers, for $10 to $12. That is easily affordable for anybody who has interest in civil war bullets and wants to know their actual true ID... including whether they are Confederate or not. Please buy that $10/$12 book, folks.

relic nut · Mar 19, 2019

TheCannonballGuy said:
Joe-Dirt wrote:
> This is a job for cannonball guy!!

At y'all's service.
According to the "Handbook Of Civil War Bullets & Cartridges":
That bullet is a pre-civil-war .38-caliber Gomez & Mills Patent (Aug. 24, 1858) bullet for the .38 Sharps Sporting Rifle. Before that US Patent information was found, diggers called these bullets a ""Multigroove Ringtail Sharps." There is no record of any production of any caliber of "multigroove" Sharps bullets by a Confederate manufacturer.

Your .38-caliber Sharps bullet is shown in the Handbook as bullet #103.

The Handbook also says that during the 1850s (well before the start of the civil war), Sharps "Sporting" (meaning civilian-usage, not military) Rifles were produced in .38, .44, and .52-calibers. Also, in 1857 through '58, the Sharps Company produced a .36 Sharps Pistol. So, there is such a thing as a Sharps pistol bullet... which is shown in the Handbook as bullet #99.

Sidenote:
The Handbook shows ALL of the many kinds & calibers of Sharps bullets in a special section titled "Sharps Pistols, Carbines, Rifles, and Sporting Rifles, .36 to .56 Caliber."

For everybody who reads this forum… I often feel a deep pain in my backside when I see a photo/screencap in this forum which contains both of the words "Ebay" and "Confederate." Ebay is VERY frequently untrustworthy about whether a civil war relic is Confederate or not. Note, an Ebay seller's "100% Satisfaction" rating should NEVER be considered a guarantee that the seller's identification of the relic is correct.

Sidenote for bullet-diggers and collectors:
As my posts here about bullets often indicate, there is a HUGE amount of very valuable UP-TO-DATE information in the "Handbook Of Civil War Bullets & Cartridges" (by James E. Thomas & Dean S. Thomas). The updated info makes this book far-far superior to the old long-outdated civil war bullet book by McKee & Mason. The "Handbook" can be purchased online from several sellers, for $10 to $12. That is easily affordable for anybody who has interest in civil war bullets and wants to know their actual true ID... including whether they are Confederate or not. Please buy that $10/$12 book, folks.