Head stamp- shotgun shell age??

You have a great find there! What you found is a Winchester "1st Quality" all brass 12 gauge shell. It looks to be the "small font" variety. It will date from 1879-1949. Winchester did not change it's headstamp for 80 years, so there is no way to tighten the date range any better. If you are finding other items, it might date from the dates of those items, but not guaranteed.

You asked about rarity. These are very scarce to rare to dig, but overall, they are a common all brass shotshell. In near perfect condition, it would be worth around $10.00 in my local market.

It would be a find of the year for me to dig!
Doug

Thanks for the quick reply, funny you should mention other nearby finds, about two feet away I found an IH from 1895.

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Finding a coin that old, that close, is a great sign that the shotshell is old too!

Doug

Hey Turtlefoot, do you need one of these for your colection?? I need a few 2x2 dime size flips if anybody needs this shell