Item Number: A00479

Item Title: 2.5 Inch Pre-1869 British Armstong Shell

Price: $125

Shipping: Not included

Provenance:

Type: Studded Shell

Size: 2.5 Inch

Sabot: Zinc Studs

Fuse: Wood Fuse Adapter (Missing)

Book:

Location Recovered: Unknown

Description:Well, I found out while at the Franklin Show from the very knowledgeable Mark McConnell that this shell is actually indeed a British Armstrong shell for the 2.5-inch Armstrong Mountain Gun. It is pre-1869 and likely pre-1861 as only the earlier ones are believed to have white metal studs with the later ones being converted to brass. This is a very hard to find example of one of the earliest rifled shells.

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Original Posting:
This is a baby shells which measures right at 2.38 inches on the iron so should be for about a 2.4-inch gun. Though very similar, this shell is not an English Armstrong shell. The English shells used brass studs and this shell has white metal studs and is likely French or Spanish. It is from the approximate time as the American Civil War but no known examples have been found in the US. Only British examples of the studded shells have been found in American Civil War sites and they are quite uncommon.

But this shell is an excellent example of a stud or shunt sabot system that was used at that time that can be had for very little money compared to the brass stud version. It is a very neat and cut shell that appears to me to be fired.

Note the Minie ball is to show the size only.