Lead Bottle Caps?????

[Trentonfrank]

I found these things in an area where I unearthed loads of dropped musket balls, .69 caliber minis and other 3 ring minis. They are made of lead and remind me of some sort of bottle cap but I really have no idea what they are. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

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[jewelerguy]

I believe they are gun powder measures, but I'm certainly no expert

 

[Yak1366]

Interesting pieces. Congrats on the finds!!!

 

[trdking]

Neato Someone will chime in. I have no idea. They definitely look like caps with holes eyelets to wire them down but for what??

 

[trapperart]

Did they have such a thing as lead muzzle protectors for rain? They look big enough, cool finds

 

[Trentonfrank]

I believe they are gun powder measures, but I'm certainly no expert

Thanks for your post. After I read what you wrote, I "Googled" "lead gun powder measures" and sure enough I found many pics of these things but from what I can tell, they were used in the 1600 and 1700's. Does anyone know if our U.S. Civil War soldiers used them as well or did I come on to a site that has both Civil War and 1700's history? I am suddenly extremely curious about these little lead "measures. Thanks again!

 

[jewelerguy]

did I come on to a site that has both Civil War and 1700's history?

I see you're in Maryland, so that is certainly possible.

 

[Joe-Dirt]

I’d go with a securable cap to something, small arms ammunition was manufactured for the muzzle loading firearms of the civil war, so no measuring was needed. Also, being a black powder shooter myself, every measure I’ve ever seen was adjustable, even the spouts on powder horns and flasks were easily removed as they were the measure for the gun and they could be changed out bepending on the owners gun and his needs for that weapon. The thing you have (googled them) come up as a powder horn cap, which I guess could be used as a measure, I’ve never seen one before. Cannonballguy will know for sure

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

I was asked to comment. It's important to note that when the Links say "civil war" they mean the English one, not our American civil war. So despite yours being found near some US civil war .69-caliber 3-groove Minie bullets, these presumably lead or lead-alloy mini-cups with two loops on the bottom's outside are not from the 1700s or 1800s. I'm about as sure of that as I can be, speaking as a 40+-year digger and dealer of relics from Rev War, 1812-War, and civil war sites here in Virginia.

I've also got to say, I doubt they are powder-measures. As the photo shows, their diameter is smaller than a US quarter-dollar coin. That means the loops on the bottom are quite tiny... and a lead loop so small and thin is fragile. It wouldn't stand up to much "rough service." Also, finding seven of them at one spot tends to support the doubt. A powder measure is something important enough in a gun's usefulness to not casually be discarded, especially not a group of them.

Lastly, the first ID-Link is the Colchester (British) Treasure Hunters website. If I recall correctly, our esteemed fellow What Is It? forum relic ID helper Crusader (in Britain) has said that the Colchester TH site's relic identifications are often untrustworthy.

Of course, I could be incorrect. But there seems to be sufficient reason for doubt about these little lead cups being a gunpowder-measure. I'd like to see some solid proof (not just a claim) for that identification. I wonder if they are shown at the UKDFDB (United Kingdom Detector Finds Database). Seems like they ought to be at the UKDFDB, if they are a powder-measure.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Here ya go: https://marketlavingtonmuseum.wordpress.com/2010/03/14/gunpowder-measure-from-the-civil-war-period/

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Neat finds
BreezieView attachment 1558905

Breezie - your "Civil War" link was to the Scottish Civil War in the 1600's. Wrong era, wrong continent.

 

[Joe-Dirt]

English civil war? Well that’s are bird of a different flavor, the account in the link sounds plausible enough, I don’t know enough on the subject to comment on the arms used.

 

[Breezie]

Dang; I should have read it closer; I'll remove my post to not add to the confusion.

Thanks!

 

[DCMatt]

17th C 'charge' (measured powder) covers.

These are pewter replicas.



I saw a shooting demonstration at Jamestown a few years ago and the guy wore a bandoleer of these. Finding these in Maryland would not be out of the question.

 

[Tedyoh]

Dang; I should have read it closer; I'll remove my post to not add to the confusion.

Thanks!

Your link was spot on....and Matt's post looks pretty good as well....i say you each get a 50/50 prize as being gunpowder / flask related