Carved Minie Ball - Jewelry Piece?

EmuDetector

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Found this carve ball today in one of my Civ areas. Looks like it was pounded flat against an iron file, some side cuts were added, then a hole was punched to make it some kind of tag or jewelry piece. It seems to have folded over time, I think it was totally flat when it was made. Definitely was a surprise to me when I brought it up! The coins in the background are on this post.

Thanks for checking it out.






 
Likely made for a fishing sinker, river or stream close by ? Soldiers made sinkers, as well as civilians way back when bullets could be found just lying on the surface. Here's a sample of the ones I've recovered over the years, and one in the middle is very similar to yours.
 

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Likely made for a fishing sinker, river or stream close by ? Soldiers made sinkers, as well as civilians way back when bullets could be found just lying on the surface. Here's a sample of the ones I've recovered over the years, and one in the middle is very similar to yours.


I thought that a sinker could be a possibility (still could be) but there's no real water source nearby. Looking over old maps between 1830 - 1960, there's none around either. I was leaning more on a jewelry or decorative piece since someone stamped it with a file and put some cuts on the side. It is on weight for a .69 cal ball. But who knows for sure!
 
don't know about the sinker because of the other carvings / etchings.. Why bother with that for a sinker.. I like to imagine that the bullet was carved out of somebody and they kept it for good luck.. :)
 
don't know about the sinker because of the other carvings / etchings.. Why bother with that for a sinker.. I like to imagine that the bullet was carved out of somebody and they kept it for good luck.. :)

thanks! I am on the same idea with it, I have seen plenty of sinkers. But to hammer it flat and mash a file design into it is just a lot of work to throw in a river. Also the lack of a river nearby is my other give away :lol:
 
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