Item Number: F00428

Item Title: Neat Hotchkiss Frag

Price: $165

Shipping: Not included

Provenance: US

Type: Hotchkiss Shell

Size: 3 Inch Caliber

Sabot: Lead Band

Fuse: Missing

Book:

Location Recovered: Culpepper, VA

Description:Occasionally I get a shell fragment that is really cool. This one is nearly a whole shell as it is a Hotchkiss shell that blew the nose section out leaving the cup, lead band and over half the nose.

We can tell this was a case shot shell. We can tell because it has the recessed lip down in the shell where the pusher plate sat. Also the shell wall got real thin up near the fuse so it could break the nose away and send the case balls forward.

There are a couple interesting aspects of this shell:
- It is a case shot shell but there are no flame grooves. So we know this to be an early variant even though the Culpepper battle was 1863 and flame grooves became standard in 1862.
- There is clear impression of lubricating cloth on the lead sabot.
- There is very crisp rifling from the ordnance gun that fired it.
- Evident on the bottom is the single patent date. If cleaned it might be easier to read.

Note the very bottom inside of the shell still contains some concreted dirt. I can remove that if you so desire.

Shell is inert, not cleaned but is coated.