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This may not be completely off topic because it does involve a bullet that could have been fired from a levergun.
This afternoon I went detecting at a site here in town that today had 12" of soil removed by heavy equipment. Back in the mid to late 19th Century a saloon occupied the lot we were searching and our original intent was to find bottles. I had dug there in prior years, excavating the privy pits that were shown on period fire insurance maps. Now that the gravel and other surface debris has been taken away a large expanse of clean dirt is available to look at. After working back and forth on the area in front of where the building once stood I got a nice steady beep, indicating something non-ferrous just beneath the surface. After pinpointing the location I worked my tool around the area and removed a 6" circle of dirt. After cleaning some loose soil with my fingers a beautiful belt buckle was laying in sight. Wouldn't you know it, I had left the camera at home, so was unable to get the usual in-situ photo. Here is what I found uncleaned and covered in dirt. The eagle is grasping olive branches, so it is most likely pre-Civil War, but some research will tell exactly what age it is.
Close to the buckle another signal sounded. too bad it was only a lead bullet mushroomed from impact. The caliber is .458 and it weighs 395.5 grains after being in the ground for at least a Century, and probably considerably longer. It looks to have possibly been fired from a rifle with a 4 groove barrel. The lands are very narrow and the grooves approximately 3/8" wide. It was probably a 405 grain 45-70 projectile, but could also be any .45 caliber rifle cartridge.
Other brass items were found, but no coins, so far. We will be back tomorrow morning.
"Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale, and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled or hanged"....President Abraham Lincoln
Very Interesting to say the least! Would love to be there, and watch. I talked about getting a metal detector some day, and now after seeing what you found may get one real soon! Please update this if you find anything else.
You may remember several years back when they redid the "porch" area outside of the Irma Hotel in Cody, WY they found a Winnie 92 or 94 trapper in the dirt. I am not sure if they used a metal detector or not to find the gun but your bullet find reminded me of that.
Darin
I can all things through Christ, who strengthens me. Phillipians 4:13
Life is hard, it is harder if your stupid. John Wayne
It turns out to be a 1860 US Army sword belt plate. It's 2111 here in CA and I'm hitting the hay.
"Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale, and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled or hanged"....President Abraham Lincoln
What do you do with all these goodies you find? You've shown so much that it makes me want to break out my old metal detector, put in a new battery and see what I can find.
Joe
***Be sneaky, get closer, bust the cap on him when you can put the ball where it counts .***
I have a small and selective collection of buckles, mostly the waist belt type with round two piece design. Buckles like this one are sold to promote the hobby and allow others to own a nice piece if they are unable to locate them on their own. Although complete, this example has suffered some corrosion from being buried in contaminated soil. It is valued at $125 in the condition that it is in and I have an interested collector on the hook. I don't touch these things with any cleaners, wire brushes or buffers. They are only soaked in hot hydrogen peroxide for 1/2 hour and rinsed in cool water. There is marked improvement over the original, dirty shape it was in yesterday. The arrows and olive branches in the eagle's talons are clearly visible over the wreath. A mint, never buried sword belt plate of this type would sell easily for $300.
"Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale, and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled or hanged"....President Abraham Lincoln
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