Lead Bag/Bail Seal with Initials~Not flat CW Bullet

[Breezie]

Hey Ya'll, I 'think' I found a Civil War bullet with the initals or name SAL on the flat side. In the same area I found a plain flatten bullet. I understand CW soldiers flatten lead to use as Poker Chips and/or money. It is approximately 3/4 inches in diameter and is made of lead. If anyone knows for sure or has any other ideas, it would be appreciated. Thanks, Breezie

 

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[tsgman]

Re: Civil War Bullet w/ Carved Initials (I think)

Those letters look like they are raised not carved. Still it looks old, not sure it is a bullet though, neat find none the less.

 

[ivan salis]

Re: Civil War Bullet w/ Carved Initials (I think)

might be a lead "bag"seal -- like a salt bag seal or similar

 

[JRich98150]

Re: Civil War Bullet w/ Carved Initials (I think)

Not sure that is a bullet. SAL probably stands for Seaboard Air Line a railroad. Do you think it could be some sort of Button? Interesting find.

JRich

 

[radiorich]

Re: Civil War Bullet w/ Carved Initials (I think)

Hello TheBreeze426,
I to have some civil war stuff in my personal collection the bullet I've got is mounted to a peice of wood shaped as a star it came from gettysburg .
well that is a great find even if it's not a bullet.
Rich

 

[crazyjarhead]

Re: Civil War Bullet w/ Carved Initials (I think)

Believe it is a lead seal. I have found 2 this year. Nice find, nonetheless

 

[Breezie]

Re: Civil War Bullet w/ Carved Initials (I think)

Thanks all for the replies, and after reading your thoughts, I think it is a 'lead seal' of some type. This lead seal was incased in a glob of what looked like old burn coal. (See pic below) It is an extremely light weight. conglomerate type rock. I saw the edge of the seal sticking out, and thought it was a coin. I used pliers, and it cracked & broke away very easily.

I did some reading on GOOGLE, but couldn't seem to nail down any type of date. There were some ancient ones, and some 150 yrs. . .any idea on a date?

tsgman, the letter are not raised; it's an optical illusion from the angle of the photo.

JRich, I don't think it is a button because the shaft is so thick.

Thanks, Breezie

 

[ivan salis]

sal --- (salt )--- my best guess is a salt seal * if found in a area with other like time framed CW stuff ----it could be CW era . -- might have been chucked into a camp fire once pulled loose. (even today folks camping chuck "junk" stuff into the fire pit. --- like aluminum beer / soda cans for exsample )

 

[Woodland Detectors]

Hi Breezie. I had found one similar and was told Sal. Salt seal as well..Mike and Maggie

 

[Breezie]

Good job ya'll on solving this one. I went back to the same yard yesterday and found 2 more seals in the same area, one was unmarked and the other is still soaking.

I found several websites on Lead Seals, and learned the letters were generally the 'city' or 'country' from which the merchandise was from. SAL is located in Cape Verde of the coast of Africa, and is known for its SALT mines. The people speak Portuguese, and SAL is the Portuguese word for SALT. Below is a copy/paste from one of the sites that tells the difference between Cloth Seals & Bale Seals:
Lead seals such as cloth seals and bale seals were widely used in Europe between the 13th and 19th centuries as a means of identification and as a component of regulation and quality control. Cloth seals appear to be the most thoroughly documented type of seal. Cloth seals were typically two disc seals joined by a connecting strip. These were intended to be folded around each side of a textile and stamped closed, in a manner similar to that in which coins were stamped.

Bale seals such were single disc seals, rather than two disc seals, and were also used to identify textiles, as well as parcels and bales of trade goods. The obverse would typically display a city's arms, and the reverse would record data such as the length or width of fabric or the weight of a parcel.

Here is a website with hundreds of photos of Lead Seals:
http://ourpasthistory.com/Gallery/bagseals

Thanks again,
Breezie

 

[allen]

neat find and neat research on your find breeze !!!