Huntin in the trenches - Need I.D. on Civil War Telegraph wire insulator

parsonwalker

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Feb 16, 2013
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Huntin' in the trenches - Need I.D. on Civil War Telegraph wire insulator

VERY difficult and slow day in the Virginia trenches. Super humid. It about wrecked me. Came out with just a dropped 3-ringer and another fired, two enfields (One with a little paper still there), percussion caps and a small iron buckle.

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Digging for a bullet, and out popped this telegraph wire insulator. I was told it's called a "top hat" or "Puritan's hat" and could be Richmond made. Found one example like mine online, going to auction with an "estimated sale value" of $1800 - $2200. Said it was a rare CW "Puritan's hat" style, but no info on whether Southern or Northern Manufacture.

The auction example is complete, while mine is obviously VERY broken. I would assume it has virtually no value, but if anybody can tell me anything about it, I would really appreciate it. Can't figure out how it got into a trench, but a small fort was about 100 yards away. Wonder if the fort had telegraph communication with Richmond? (Less than 10 miles away) I plan to post in "What Is It?" as well.

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Upvote 8
Even broken, those rare early threadless insulators have value to collectors who can't afford to load their windowsills with intact 4-figure antiques. My hunch is that you could get 50, or a bit more for it given the ~2,000 value if complete. Nice finds.
 

Broken or not it's a nice CW relic!
 

I would certainly be proud to own the insulator. Very nice find.
 

Hey there!

Nice find! CD-738, worth probably at least $20-50 to someone just as a specimen of that style.
Keep your eyes open for an intact one!
 

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