questions? ?? :-)

[bountyhuntergirl86]

how rare are musket balls and cw bullets? and how to date them? and is a three ringer a special bullet? and what does the star mean in the bottem of a bullet?

 

[CoilyGirl]

I think I can answer your question,at least partially. CW bullets are not really all that rare,especially if you live in an area where a major battle was fought .certainly certain types of bullets are more rare than others and some people solely collect bullets. Dating them in a general time frame is fairly easy,the oxidized lead bullets are white.A three ringer is a pretty much the standard type of bullet used in the Civil War by the Union forces,also called a minie ball.I have seen three ringers with star shaped cuts inside of them and don't think they are real common but don't know much about them.Here's an interesting link for you about CW bullets.

Civil War Bullets

 

[cedar6712]

how rare are musket balls and cw bullets? and how to date them? and is a three ringer a special bullet? and what does the star mean in the bottem of a bullet?

The star in the base of a three-ringer denotes it was made at the Washington arsenal. Some Enfields has symbols in the base. Some say these are British arsenal markings. Value runs the gamut from the common .58 three ringer, worth a couple of bucks at best, to several hundred for a Gardner explosive or a nice Whitworth sharpshooter projectile.