Back in the 1980s I had a friend who was into metal detecting, and he used to give me his old copies of the Treasure Hunting magazines that he subscribed to.
I remember an article in one of those magazines that was one of the most unusual coin finds I'd ever heard of.
In the last half of the nineteenth century, firearms were a part of daily life. Probably every male in this country (and a lot of females) carried one. You kinda HAD to, if you wanted to stay alive.
In addition to the six-gun worn on the hip and the revolver stuck in your belt, one of the most popular firearms was the short barreled double-barrel shotgun.
Outlaws carried them, peace officers carried them, and top-side stage coach riders carried them, hence the term "riding shotgun".
At some point back then, somebody found that shotgun shells could be "improved" by removing the lead pellets and replacing them with pennies.
A 12 gauge load of pennies whirring through the air at 1200 feet per second caused devastating damage...much like shrapnel.
The writer of the article was a cartridge collector, and was frequently going to gun shows looking for cartridges for his collection.
One day at a gun show, one of the bourse tables had a partial box of very old shotgun shells for sale at a good price, so it was purchased for his collection.
Upon close examination at home, it was found that one of the shells had apparently gotten damp and the paper shell had swollen to the point of splitting up the side.
Through the split could be seen the glint of copper, rather than the expected lead pellets.
Since the shell was damaged and no longer had significant collector value, it was decided to open it to see what was inside.
As the shell was opened, out onto the table spilled 12 shiny new
Indian Head cents.
GUESS WHAT DATE!
Hint: It was the year after the Custer fight.
Edited for typo.
Posted 01/26/2008 8:21 pm
