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We will be setup at the big Baltimore Show the weekend of March 21 and 22nd. Bonus if you can find our table as far as is humanly possible from the entrance. I am picking up a shell and bullet collection en route to the show so will have some fresh-to-the market items available.

A01836 - Uncommonly Nice And Very Uncommon 30 Pounder Read

Item Number: A01836

Item Title: Uncommonly Nice And Very Uncommon 30 Pounder Read

Price: $640

Shipping: Not included

Provenance: CS

Type: Read

Size: 30 Pounder (4.2)

Sabot: Wroght Iron

Fuse: Wood Adapter (missing)

Book:
Jack Bell page 329

Location Recovered: Petersburg, VA

Description:
Jack Bell on page 329 of his Heavy Explosive Ordnance book indicates these are known to used in Charleston and the Richmond-Petersburg area. This projectile was purchased by the prior owner from Sam White (Petersburg collector). Both in my collection are from there.

This is a long pattern smooth Read shell designed for the Confederate 30 Pounder Parrott (copy) rifle. As Jack provides, the South only made 22 of the rifles. They would have only been used in Forts, on ships and in siege situations. So common sense would lead one to believe there aren't a lot of fired ones that are recoverable and certainly not in great shape.

As indicated, this shell is a long 30 Pounder for the Parrott style rifle. It has good heft when you pick it up. The nose is more rounded than the Parrott round, it is about 1/2 inches longer than a Parrott, and it is finished with lathing so comes with a lathe dimple. The iron is very good with the lathe marks visible up the body. Around the fuse and 1/2 way down one side there is some light pitting that I feel sure is from the powder having leached out the fuse hole and eaten away at the iron a bit. It doesn't distract from it and displays wonderfully. The shell used a wooden fuse adapter that like most is no longer there. The fuse hole is nice and clean. The sabot is the thinner CS wrought iron and is in great shape showing the 5 lands-n-grooves of the gun from being fired. These are often eroded away as they are fairly thin compared to the stamped Wrought iron ones found on the Parrott shells. Also there is a very neat large lathe dimple embedded in a large exhaust sprue. All in all a very good shell that is hard to get.


This shell is from the incredible California collection amassed by the late Bill Tracy.

Shell is inert, cleaned and coated.


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