Brass Shell

Morgoroth · May 24, 2012, 12:32 PM

One of my students' parents found this while doing some work on an old house downtown. It was buried about 5 feet in the ground and the house was built in the '20s.

The best I could figure out with my own research was that it was probably made between 1860 and 1960, but I figure you guys could probably get a little closer than 100 years.

I know it's a brass shotgun shell, and it says "Winchester" across the top, and "No. 12" on the bottom for the head stamp. Its almost impossible to read though because of the corrosion.

So, what do you guys think?
Shell 1

Sorry, I didn't realize that last one is upside down.

James K · May 24, 2012, 07:58 PM

Maybe I can narrow that a bit. Winchester did not market a shotgun until 1880, when it began to sell a line of English doubles under the Winchester name. So it would not have produced any shotshells before that.

Jim

Morgoroth · May 25, 2012, 06:04 AM

Thanks! That's at least 20 years off of my window.

Morgoroth · May 29, 2012, 09:29 AM

I've had some problems with the links in the original post, so I thought I would add them to the thread as attachments.

Hardcase · May 29, 2012, 09:45 AM

It should be a Winchester 12 gauge shell that was made between 1894 and 1900 or possibly in the early to mid 1920s. Between 1901 and 1920, the headstamp was "1901" instead of "Winchester". In 1921, they went back to "Winchester" and sometime in the '20s, they changed from "No." to "GA".

Morgoroth · May 29, 2012, 10:10 AM

Thanks for the help.
Is there any way to tell which set of dates it would be?
Did both of those time periods have the rolled end to hold the shot in?

Hardcase · May 29, 2012, 02:23 PM

There probably is a way, but unfortunately, I spilled my guts in the post above - I don't know anything else. That's just info that I ran across a while back when I was really interested in loading brass shotgun shells.

May 24, 2012, 12:32 PM	#1
Morgoroth Senior Member Join Date: January 12, 2010 Posts: 198	Brass Shell One of my students' parents found this while doing some work on an old house downtown. It was buried about 5 feet in the ground and the house was built in the '20s. The best I could figure out with my own research was that it was probably made between 1860 and 1960, but I figure you guys could probably get a little closer than 100 years. I know it's a brass shotgun shell, and it says "Winchester" across the top, and "No. 12" on the bottom for the head stamp. Its almost impossible to read though because of the corrosion. So, what do you guys think? Shell 1 Sorry, I didn't realize that last one is upside down.

May 29, 2012, 09:45 AM	#5
Hardcase Senior Member Join Date: April 14, 2009 Location: Sunny Southern Idaho Posts: 1,909	It should be a Winchester 12 gauge shell that was made between 1894 and 1900 or possibly in the early to mid 1920s. Between 1901 and 1920, the headstamp was "1901" instead of "Winchester". In 1921, they went back to "Winchester" and sometime in the '20s, they changed from "No." to "GA". __________________ Well we don't rent pigs and I figure it's better to say it right out front because a man that does like to rent pigs is... he's hard to stop - Gus McCrae

May 29, 2012, 02:23 PM	#7
Hardcase Senior Member Join Date: April 14, 2009 Location: Sunny Southern Idaho Posts: 1,909	There probably is a way, but unfortunately, I spilled my guts in the post above - I don't know anything else. That's just info that I ran across a while back when I was really interested in loading brass shotgun shells. __________________ Well we don't rent pigs and I figure it's better to say it right out front because a man that does like to rent pigs is... he's hard to stop - Gus McCrae

May 24, 2012, 07:58 PM	#2
James K Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 24,383	Maybe I can narrow that a bit. Winchester did not market a shotgun until 1880, when it began to sell a line of English doubles under the Winchester name. So it would not have produced any shotshells before that. Jim

May 25, 2012, 06:04 AM	#3
Morgoroth Senior Member Join Date: January 12, 2010 Posts: 198	Thanks! That's at least 20 years off of my window.

May 29, 2012, 10:10 AM	#6
Morgoroth Senior Member Join Date: January 12, 2010 Posts: 198	Thanks for the help. Is there any way to tell which set of dates it would be? Did both of those time periods have the rolled end to hold the shot in?