This is an extremely rare shell.  The rarity is a 10 out of 10.  See the book entitled Field Artillery Projectiles of the American Civil War by Thomas Dickey and Peter George on page 399.  The picture shows a percussion type found at Hills Point, VA.   This particular shell was recovered by Mike Knox years ago, not far from Hills Point near Smithfield, VA.  The location of the find will be given to the owner. The base measures 4.31" and is verified using a digital caliper.  The length measures 10½" and weighs 30 lbs. The one pictured in the book is 8.75".  In the description of the book it states that a number of rare shells of this type were purchased by the US Government. This is one of those rare shells and it is a monster when compared to the standard 3" Hotchkiss shell.  See the image of both shells for comparison.  This shell was fired from a 4.4" Dahlgren rifle and has 10 distinct lands and grooves as noted in the lead sabot.  The entire shell including the iron (strong and very stable) and sabot are in outstanding condition.   You can read the entire patent information on the base and it is printed in two circular lines.   This shell was fired during the Siege of Suffolk in 1863, and we have identified the Union gun boat that fired this shell while patrolling the Nansemond River.  I will provide this information to the new owner.  What is unique about this shell is that it took a wooden fuse plug, although it does not have any of the cut flame grooves.  It is tough to find a rare shell of this size and caliber, but in this condition, it is unheard of.....try finding one.   The 3" Hotchkiss is not included in this sale, although it listed for sale on this site and it is a rare Hotchkiss.   The cost for shipping and insurance is $75.00.  The price for the shell is about the same as you would pay for a high end Confederate buckle.  I would take the shell any day!

A very attractive 2.75" Whitworth bolt in excellent condition.  The bolt measures about 2.73" across the flats and 9½" in length.  The shell was made in Great Britain for the Confederacy.  The iron is in outstanding condition and overall has an attractive dark hue to the shell.  It is getting harder to find shells in this condition that have not been altered with, i.e. plastic filler or bondo.  None of the artillery shells listed have any of that, just a light coat of satin polyurethane to preserve its condition. This one will stand out in your collection.

Another beautiful, high end quality shell with very strong iron and a dark brown hue to it.  This is the 2.90" Schenkl shell with the rounded nose which means it was made for case shot.  I added the fuse, a Schenkl combination percussion (the same type that goes with this kind of shell) which was recovered from Antietam.  The fuse alone cost $225.00, and it is in excellent condition for a dug pewter fuse with most of the writing and numbers still legible, along with the brass tab.  Many of these pewter fuses when dug are in lousy condition.  Once you remove the fuse, you can see the case shot on the inside of the shell.  The Schenkl has six raised ribs, all in excellent condition.  You will have a hard time upgrading this shell.  The Schenkl was recovered from Fredericksburg, VA. This is just one knock out shell that will look great in your artillery collection.

This is another beautiful shell and a little harder to come by, especially in this condition.  The Parrott shell is the sub-pattern I that is the flat nose bolt (solid shot) with an iron sabot.  Many of the Parrott shells were made with powder or case shot fixed with a percussion or a white metal fuse adapter for a paper time fuse.  This shell is in excellent condition and the images show the condition of the iron which has a beautiful brown hue to it.  The iron sabot has the pronounced rifling marks.  The shell measures 6½".  These shells were used during the Siege of Vicksburg to destroy fixed objects like buildings, cannon emplacements and forts. It will be a long time before you find a shell this nice and of this quality.

This is a 6 lb Confederate cannon ball with a Bormann fuse.  The condition is top of the line.  The iron is smooth with a dark brown hue and the ball has a faint mold line.  The Bormann has all the Confederate traits including the high lip and the ½ second hash mark after the 5.  The fuse was punched at the 2.5 second mark so it was fired. The 1,3,4 and 5 are readable, but the 3 is faint. The shell was recovered from Washington, NC.  I doubt seriously that you will ever find a Confederate Bormann cannon ball this attractive and of this quality.  In all my years of collecting, I have not seen one.  The shell is heavy and is probably a case shot.

This is another attractive shell with excellent iron.  The birdcage is sharp, almost pristine with excellent detail as shown in the images.   The nose is entirely smooth except for one small spot.  The fuse has some impact damage, but still very nice and has dark green patina.  The 3.8" percussion James shell was found years ago at Cold Harbor.  This is the best of the best and you will never have to upgrade this shell.  The images tell it all.

This is the 2.94" Confederate Mullane, sub-pattern 1.  This is a very nice looking shell with solid iron. The only pitting on the shell is around the nose, the remainder is smooth.  The two bourrelets are also smooth and very pronounced as shown in the images.  This type of shell took a copper sabot which most times is missing when found because it was blown off when fired.  All 3 iron pins are present and if you have the sabot it would make a nice addition to the shell.  This shell took a wooden fuse adapter.  This one was recovered from Stones River, TN.  A very nice Confederate shell to add to your collection.

Although the Parrott shell was one of the standard shells used during the Civil War, the condition of this one is unbelievable.   The iron is extremely smooth and the overall condition is outstanding.  You will never have to upgrade this shell.  When this shell was found it had a partial pewter fuse plug which was removed and replaced with another dug one.  The fuse screws in/out easily.  This turned out to be a smart thing because once the fuse was removed it revealed case shot embedded in yellow sulfur matrix which you can clearly see.  This Parrott was dug years ago by Mike Knox near Frazier Farm outside of Richmond.  This shell is truly the best of the best. 

When is the last time you saw this type of shell?  This is a Confederate shell that was initially fitted for a Bormann fuse, but due to poor performance was refitted with the over sized copper fuse plug.  The shell is very nice with strong iron, minimal pitting near top, moderate near bottom.  The fuse plug is 1½ inches across and much wider than the typical copper fuse plug.  The fuse screws in/out easily for display.  The side plug is either brass or copper.  The plug is not iron as there is no surface pitting.  The exact recovery location is unknown, but I believe somewhere in North Carolina.  It will be a long time before you see a shell like this one again and of this quality.

This is a rare shell and one that you do not see often.  This is the earlier version of the Hotchkiss that took the pewter fuse adapter for a paper time fuse.  The later shells were cut with three flame grooves.  This shell looks like the ones made for a percussion fuse. The base on the shell has most of the patent information still visible but hard to pick up in the pictures.  The iron and lead sabot are in great condition as shown, and will be an attractive shell for your collection.  This was found at Shiloh, TN.  The rarity on this shell is 7. The rifling marks on the sabot are strong with nice looking dark patina to the lead.  It will be hard to upgrade this shell.

This is an attractive shell and one that you do not encounter often. Most of the Parrott shells had either the iron or a low brass ring sabot.  The iron on this one is very nice, mostly smooth with minimal pitting near the base.  This 2.94" Parrott shell was fitted with a high band brass sabot attached to the iron base that had six indentations to prevent slipping when fired.  The shell is fitted with a pewter percussion fuse.  This shell is in overall excellent condition and was recovered from Kennesaw Mountain in Georgia. 

This is a very attractive 3.8" James shell and has an excellent copper percussion fuse with dark green patina.  The iron has a dark brown patina which is in very nice condition.  The iron on the nose is mostly smooth with minimal pitting around the birdcage.  This is a great looking shell that displays nicely.  This one was recovered from Vicksburg, Mississippi.

This is a 2.94" Hotchkiss nose that took a wooden fuse adapter rather than the typical brass adapter.  This shell is the less common variety. 

This is a 12 lb cannon ball fitted with a Bormann fuse.  The iron is solid and has only been lightly cleaned with a brush.  This one will clean up even nicer with electrolysis, if you choose and reveal smooth iron.  I like having the dug appearance on some of the shells depending on the condition of the iron. All the numbers, 1-5 on the fuse are legible as seen in the images.  This fuse has a dark gray/brown patina and there is no punch mark on it. This shell may be a case shot because it is heavier than most cannon balls that I have handled.  This one is very attractive and would make a nice addition to your collection.  There is a strong likelihood that this Bormann is Confederate because of the high lip and I think there is a ½ second mark after the 5 but it is too difficult to tell on this one.  Further cleaning may reveal whether it is Confederate or not.  Dug location is somewhere in Virginia.

This shell was purchased directly from the late Sam White.  This is one beautiful shell and is stunning to hold.  The anvil in the brass percussion fuse unscrews and the slider moves.  The top of the fuse has very nice markings. This shell was made for the 20 lb guns.  This Schenkl is unique in that it has 6 recessed ribs rather than the typical raised ribs.  This is a difficult shell to find in this condition. Provenance unknown.

This is a unique shell.  It was initially fitted for a bormann fuse, but due to its poor performance was refitted with a pewter fuse plug (I believe the same type used for the 20 and 30 pounder Parrott shells) for a paper time fuse. The fuse opening is 1 3/8 inches.  Shell measures 8½ inches tall and has an iron sabot. The iron on this shell is excellent and mostly smooth.  You will never have to upgrade this shell.  This was found many years ago by Mike Knox near Frazier Farm outside of Richmond, Virginia.  I have only seen a few shells of this type in all my years of collecting and one never this nice.