4 inch Read Shell

[XRdsRev]

This shell finally arrived today and it is a rare beauty.  A 4? (3.91?) Reed with wrought iron sabot.  A very rare shell surmised to possibly have been intended for the handful of 4? Preston Faucett rifled cannon imported into the Confederacy.

The base has a large lathe dimple and the nose has a couple imperfections one of which almost looks like a lathe dog was chiseled off.

Not certain what battlefield this came off of but it did originate from an estate in western Maryland (Hagerstown-Sharpsburg region).

[emike123]

Great shell.  Congratulations.

I have always thought that most were from surplus stocks as it was a "shell looking for a cannon," but Howard Aligood told me that there was one gun that fired these and it was in use at Malvern Hill.

[CarlS]

Very neat shells.  Here is a prior thread from 2017 on that particular type of shell that you might find interesting:
     http://www.bulletandshell.com/forum/index.php?topic=1919.msg16144#msg16144
Very nice acquisition.