Nose section of Parrott shell from early Gettysburg collection (SOLD)

A while back I acquired a very early Gettysburg Artillery collection, which had been in storage for many years. There are examples of both Confederate and Union shells – some were “ground-burst” and others just sections. A few had very crudely painted inventory numbers, which had faded over time. Others had pieces of cloth tape which originally had information, but also faded. They had very old glued-on typed paper labels, but most of them were disintegrated with age – however one did survive with Gettysburg information, but that one was also worn, but I will include a copy of it with each shell, where it does have “Gettysburg” and a couple other indecipherable words.

The one offered here is the nose of a Union 10-pounder Parrott shell. It still has the zinc fuse adapter in place with the hole for the paper time fuse. It is a little difficult to exactly make out the old painted inventory/location number, but it appears to be “33”, with the first number crudely painted and the second one very faded. It stands 2 ¾” high with a diameter of 3”.

The surface of this shell is very clean and smooth, indicative of an early recovery. In the famous Gettysburg Danner Museum collection, most of the artillery shells had similar painted inventory numbers, but they were usually neatly done. In my books “Battle of Gettysburg – The Relics, Artifacts & Souvenirs” and “Civil War Artillery – A Pictorial Introduction”, I go into further detail about these Gettysburg shells.

This piece is a real beauty and I will include a copy of the original paper tag, as well as a signed and embossed Certificate of Authenticity.