#163-CIVIL WAR SALE: VERY RARE FULL PAPER WRAPPED BULLET & POWDER

If you have been a Civil War collector for many years you will certainly attest to the difficulty finding an intact original paper wrapped bullet and powder combination.

I looked for many years for an example of these--and found just one more than 30 years ago in one of best Civil War antiquarian shops I'd ever seen....in Gettysburg. One would assume that there would be a large number of such stores in Gettysburg to serve the equally large tourist trade.

I spent considerable time on my first trip there, looking through every retail store and a wonderful antique/Civil War mall as well. Since I haven't been to the city in many years, I haven't a clue if many of the dealers remain. Back in the age of mail price lists before the internet took over every facet of retailing, I had purchased from several of those dealers for many years. I was especially interested in the wealth of Civil War historical items that would not have been for the typical tourist but rather for collectors quite sophisticated in what they purchased.

I finally found a wrapped bullet identical to this one and didnt' hesitate to purchase it for the retail price of either $125 or $150; I don't recall which of these prices it was that long ago. I sold it many years later for considerably more and never found another.

This one is from the Tom McCarthy collection as are about 25 items in this sale. McCarthy as many of my customers are aware owns an outstanding collection of Civil War items, and perhaps the finest collection of Civil War books. I was fortunate to have access to the collection several times while I was writing Civil War histories.

It can be difficult to put a price on something so seldom seen as this one. Needless to say, if I sold one (that went very quickly) 25+ years ago for about $200, I would think that if you found a comparable one today it would easily sell for twice that. And again, we are offering this at what I believe is substantially less than you could find elsewhere; and in this case, I doubt you could find another.

OFFERS CONSIDERED
Submit offers to [email protected]