Item Number: F00058

Item Title: Wonderful Type-I Hotchkiss Half - Iron Case

Price: $195

Shipping: Not included

Provenance: US

Type: Hotchkiss

Size: 3 Inch

Sabot: Lead Band

Fuse: Lead Hotchkiss Type I

Book: Dickey and George (1993 Edition) Page 164
Melton and Pawl (Paperback Editon) Page 55 A-64

Location Recovered: Unknown

Description:First of all, my apologies for the bad images. I've still got a lot to learn to take images of half shells. The saw marks on the cut aren't nearly as evident as in the images and the surface look is a consistent iron look with a dull shine.

This is a real cool display item. It was a Type-I Hotchkiss for the ordnance rifle (and sometimes Parrott) that was never fired and obviously found on a battlefield somewhere.

The case shot are cast iron and most show a casting sprue. The shell had 23 case balls and this half contains 12 of the case balls. About 4 of the case balls have some scratches from the saw blade but I didn't see any cuts on them.

There appears to have been an iron tube extending from the lead fuse to the pusher plate to ensure a path through the case balls to the powder charge but it is no longer present. The fuse is in excellent shape with the cut going between the two spanner holes. The spanner hole left on this fuse is in good shape.

Of interest is the square powder cavity. Note the top corners come close to the outside of the shell creating a weak place for the nose to blow off and spew the case balls forward.

The shell was cleaned and coated before being cut and the outside displays quite well.