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FINEST & LARGEST COLLECTION OF CIVIL WAR SMALL

Currency:USD Category:Firearms & Military Start Price:20,000.00 USD Estimated At:40,000.00 - 60,000.00 USD
FINEST & LARGEST COLLECTION OF CIVIL WAR SMALL
ARMS PROJECTILES EVER ASSEMBLED. Dan Poppen compiled the single finest collection of Civil War excavated bullets from camps & battlefields for over 50 years, constantly upgrading. His displays have won numerous awards over the years. This collection is housed in eighteen 12" x 16" wooden cases w/ each projectile named with its caliber & characteristics. There are many unique variants. There are some extra-ordinary rarities, which very few are known and this collection has the finest condition. Among the distinctive rarities is the Confederate 69 cal. explosive, hexagonal & double end Whitworths, 4 piece Shaler, all 3 variations of the "Arkansas Hog" 69 cal. projectile. There are 9 variant Whitworths, 8 variant Shalers. There is every known base marking for Enfield projectiles. There is every known marking variety for various US arsenal minies. There are numerous varieties of Sharps, Dimmicks (Swiss Chasseur). There are numerous varieties of Gardner projectiles, CS shotgun slugs, French imported & Confederate copies. There is every variation of Confederate armory projectiles, Carcanos, both imported & Confederate copies, excavated 1" gatling gun projectile. The list goes on and on. In Mason & Mckee's last edition of their projectile book (1980) they list a total of 658 projectiles, this collection has over 1,300 projectiles of which 908 are distinct varieties. The other approximate 400 display projectiles are 2 displays containing 166 fired projectiles showing the numerous calibers & rifling different weapons had. Fired bullets are the most common relic from battlefields but you have to dig hundreds of bullets to find perfect projectiles that did not get badly distorted still showing fine rifling of different weapons. There are 2 flats containing over 200 projectiles showing oddities from the battlefield and camps such as bullets carved or whittled by soldiers, bullets still attached to worms or cleaning jags, a bullet fired w/ the ramrod still in the gun, a fired bullet w/ portion of ramrod still attached (in the heat of battle there are many accounts of soldiers firing their guns with the ramrods still in the muzzles), bullets chewed by humans, bullets chewed by animals, "blow throughs", casting flaws, melted in the field. There are 2 sets of fused bullets, bullets that hit each other & fused as 1. There is a most interesting display of an exploded Confederate Boreman 12 lb. cannon ball with its fragments, fuse & 42 bullets that were contained and used as case shot. Of these 42 bullets are several variations including 69 cal. Tower, 69 cal. 3 ring, Carcano, Sugarloaf, Gardners .54 cal. & 58 cal., Confederate 3 ringers. As noted in the biography in the front of this catalog, Dan Poppen loved Civil War small arms projectiles which he first started collecting in the 1950s. Dan was an early friend of Mac Mason & encouraged his interest in Civil War bullets & helped him with his book, of which many of these projectiles are photographed & pictured in the classic Mason & McKee "Civil War Projectiles" from 1966 & the last 1980 edition with addendum. CONDITION: projectiles are very good to fine overall. Excavated lead patina. PROVENANCE: Estate Collection of Dan Poppen. (02-13448/JS). $40,000-60,000.