Some relics from a hunt in South Carolina

fatheadnc · Apr 9, 2011

If any of you guys and gals can provide some info on these relics that would be great. I haven't been on many relic hunts and don't have the knowledge to identify what the finds are so any help is appreciated.

Thanks,

Shane

Tnmountains · Apr 9, 2011

What does the writing say on the one item? I am seeing a cw bullet a fired round lead ball a modern fired bullet and a shotgun base. Not sure what the long item is or the oval with the writing.
Nice finds.

ewcoinhunter · Apr 9, 2011

Nice relics, and cool finds!

jrsherman · Apr 9, 2011

Unless it's a Savage I don't think it's a Civil War period bullet Tn. Those look like crimp marks around the ring, which would mainly be indicative of a later date.

I, too, am interested in the brass piece in the upper left.

Other than that, I'd say your oldest relic is the round ball, lower left. No telling how old that puppy is being from SC, but they pretty much went out of fashion with the Civil War.

fatheadnc · Apr 10, 2011

All I can make out of the writing on the oval brass item is Sampson Crass. I believe its some type of clasp for a leather case of some sort as their is still some leather between the two pieces. The long piece almost looks like part of a trigger. How can you tell that the bullet with brass still attached is modern. I looked up some on the internet and have seen a few that looked just like this one. I thought the white patina would denote the bullet was from the civil war era.

jrsherman · Apr 10, 2011

Not necessarily. Solid lead bullets were used up until about the 1890's IIRC. I'd be better able to tell with a picture that didn't have as much light on it while still being close up.

If there are little marks all around that groove like it kind of looks like, those are usually tell-tale signs of crimping, which didn't occur widespread until the 1880's or 1890's, when brass cases became standard instead of mainly for military use. Also, there aren't very many varieties of single groove bullets with a rounded dome tip that were used during the Civil War.

Still not sure on the brass piece. It seems familiar to me but don't know from where. Still has me :icon_scratch:

. Also, I don't think the other piece is any part to a trigger, or trigger guard. It looks like it may be a part of a frame buckle though.

If you're interested in the relic side of the Civil War, I'd recommend getting the following books for starters:
"Civil War Artifacts" by Howard Crouch
"Civil War Projectiles 2" by W. Mckee & M.E. Mason

These two cover a large portion of any Civil War artifacts you'd be finding starting out. Past that it's just time, patience, and experience!