Check these out.

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jtscuba02

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Raeford, NC(Ft Bragg)
I am an avid scuba diver and on one of my dives I found these. The story goes it was a blockade runner during the civil war and was sunk about 10 miles off the coast of South Carolina. I just happened to put my hand in a hole and pulled a handful of these conicals and chunks of what looks like bird shot out. The call it the General Sherman but this is not the proper name. I have dived this wreck a bunch of times and have found wooden and porcelain buttons. I have seen a whole case of rifles brought up and everything else from buckles to cannon balls.

So judging from the size, these are for a pistol?
 

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That's what I was thinking, except they seem a bit large. I had forgot I had these until a couple of weeks ago and I pulled them out. I think they said the rifles were Enfields. It was a while ago, so I may be wrong. Pretty cool little piece of history. Although, it would have been better if I found a revolver to go with them.
 
Saweet! I love history, and it seems you've found some! Could you have kept the revolver even if you had found one? California has some pretty messed up laws that would have made even the bottle hunting I did as a kid illegal if I was doing that now...but that's California for you.
 
BHP, if I would have found a revolver I could have kept it. I watched them load the rifles up on a truck after taking them off the dive boat. I think about it now and wonder how much stuff I passed over. Now FL has some strict laws. You can't even take a shell out of the sancataries there.

Raider, I'm gonna have to do that. I thought most of the rifles then were .58 but my KLR is .50 and takes a smaller ball.
 
I'm curious if the measurements would be true after having been at the bottom of the ocean for over 150 years. Wouldn't the lead have corroded a little making the bullets a tad smaller?
 
Those are very impressive artifacts that you've recovered and thanks for sharing them with us.
At 10 miles out it sounds like it's quite a dive.
How deep is the wreck?
How much time can you spend down there each time?
Can you tell us anything else about your dives?
Maybe some Civil War collectors would be interested in the items.
Have you thought about selling them at all so that they'll be preserved and recognized as authentic collectibles?
Not for the money but rather to be part of a larger collection to be preserved, even if it's a private one.
I guess that it boils down to the fact that some folks died or risked their lives to transport those items including yourself. It would be great to see them somehow preserved for posterity. Maybe you could write up a small document and then get it notarized to serve as authentication for the items. Some banks and libraries even offer free notarizing.
The bullets look like they're in great shape.
 
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Bluehawk, there is a small amount of corrosion, just in spots, but overall I think they are the same size when cast.

Arcticap, the wreck is in about 50 feet of water. I don't think these would be worth anything to anybody. Just one of those cool things that I lucked upon. The dive shop has a bunch of stuff on display and I'm pretty sure they did recover the bell or maybe they were still looking for it when they found the rifles.

It would be cool to know if they are pistol or rifle.
 
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