Double banded , reeded projectile

[coinhound1983]

Hey guys. I got grilled yesterday for being a treasurenet newbie. But i read the rules now and have a new find here's a couple pics. Hope I can get caliber of this projectile, thnx

 

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[NOLA_Ken]

we'll need a good accurate (as possible) measurement of the diameter of the bullet, I can tell you it's pretty old from the patina and the hollow base says muzzle loader. There are a few people here that can pretty much id them on sight though.

 

[coinhound1983]

Here's another view so we can get a good measurement. I've got the width but no tape to wrap around it.

 

[flyadive]

You need to measure with calipers.
Does look old though

 

[coinhound1983]

No calipers but used measuring tape and appears to be exactly 1 inch around give or take 1mm

 

[fyrffytr1]

You don't need the circumference. Diameter and length will help Id it. My guess is a 58 cal. Gardner. You can buy a good set of digital calipers from Lowe's for about $20.00. They come in very handy in relic identification.

 

[A/CMan]

It's a 54. Cal wilkinson

 

[coinhound1983]

Oh wow. That is it , it looks identical! What a find, 60 bucks for 1 projectile? Wow. Case closed thank you guys very much

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Sorry, but no, it is definitely not a Wilkinson bullet ...for several reasons.

1- The finder's photo shows it is only .75-inch long (or a tiny bit less). Wilkinson bullets were .95-to-.97-inch long.
2- The finder's photo shows it has a wide (and apparently bowl-shaped) cavity in its base. Wilkinson bullets had a simple flat solid base.
3- The seller says its circumference is "exactly 1 inch around give or take 1mm." Applying the Pi formula, that circumference measurement equals very near exactly .32-inch diameter. The only two sizes of Wilkinson bullets are .50-caliber and .54-caliber.
4- The finder says it has a reeded groove. (I can't see it in the blurry photos, but the finder specifically says it is reeded.) No Wilkinson bullets have a reeded groove.
5- Reeded grooves do not appear on bullets until around 1880. Wilkinson bullets are strictly 1861-65 era.

The "Handbook of Civil War Bullets & Cartridges" book says the made-in-America Wilkinson bullet was modeled on "a European design." So, because we can now be certain the finder's "reeded" .32-inch diameter mystery-bullet is definitely not an American-made Wilkinson, it would seem to be an 1880s-or-later European bullet.

 

[A/CMan]

I don't see the reed, maybe the rifling may look a reed to him I don't know, that's the only bullet that'd in my data base that looks like it,but the makers did develop different styles, at the beginning were larger calibers but in the middle and towards the end , smaller calibers were introduce some were cartridges some wasn't , who knows!?

 

[coinhound1983]

I'm going to get exact dimensions for you guys. Also when I mean reeded, I mean reeded like the outside of a coin.. But in this instance, in the band. Thank you guys for taking concern.

 

[A/CMan]

I guess my eyes aren't as good as they use to be, since it reeded for sure I would go with TCBG, he is very knowledgeable on the civil war projectiles, thanks for posting it GL& HH AC