Tag Archives: relic

Some people have all the luck

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Via the Phoenix (Arizona) Police:

Homeowners in a valley home were digging a hole for a tree when they dug up more than they asked for! They found a duffle bag with rusted rifles and handguns inside. They called #PHXPD and gave them to detectives, who will investigate if these firearms were used in any crimes.

The guns look to be a legit Colt 933– if not, it is at least an SBR– along with a Galil, a Micro UZI, and a MAC 10/11 of some sort. Curious mix. Would be interesting to see if they still work after their time underground, for overall cache purposes. I’d bet that of all the above, the Galil would be the most functional.

Keep in mind that guns left to the arid environment of the Southwest often hold up remarkably well. A case in point is the famous “Forgotten Winchester” discovered in 2014 leaning against a juniper tree in Nevada’s Great Basin National Park. The ammunition in the rifle dated to the 1887-1911 time frame.

Poking through Collector’s Corner in Atlanta

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Tucked away in the “100s” the collector section at NRAAM took up the first aisle of the Georgia World Congress Center exhibition hall and the assemblage of preservationists, auction houses and relic curators had a rare firearm exhibit open to the public rivaling anything you could see in a museum.

I went poking through them.

A Colt Python owned by Elvis that has been in the news lately

The Georgia Collector’s Association was on hand with an extensive collection of antebellum-era master gunsmith/silversmith/militia colonel Wiley G. Higgins, who made firearms in the Indian Springs area of Monroe County (which was the frontier in the early 1800s and capital of the Creek Indian Nation) prior to the Civil War. He was a fan of extensive patch box work on his stocks

How about a correct U.S. Navy Model 1861 Plymouth Rifle with bayonets brought to the show by the Virginia Gun Collectors Association? Just 10,000 of these .69 caliber muzzle loaders were made for the sea service during the Civil War and the OSS later wound up buying 500 from a surplus dealer in World War II to arm local militias in the Pacific islands.

More in my column at Guns.com

Not your average catch of the day

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crate-of-british-enfields-were-dragged-off-newfoundland-in-2011

The archaeology department at Memorial University in St. John’s Newfoundland has been working since 2011 to save a crate of 20 Pattern 1853 Enfield rifled muskets that were delivered to Canada via fishing trawler after an extended period on the bottom of the Atlantic.

The rifles, still in the crate they have been in since around the 1850s-60s, are housed in a large container filled with a chemical solution that includes a bulking agent and corrosion inhibitor designed to stabilize the relics.

“This soaking process will take many years and is done to prevent the wood from collapsing, cracking, or warping once dry and also to prevent any remaining iron from staining the wood surface,” Memorial’s Archaeological Conservator, Donna Teasdale, told me.

And they are now starting to find inspector’s marks on very well preserved brass and walnut.

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More in my column at Guns.com

Or so the (urban) legend goes…

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The sallet (also called celata, salade and schaller) was a war helmet that replaced the bascinet in Italy, western and northern Europe and Hungary during the mid-15th century and are an example of the height of armor production before the practice of wearing such items was done in by firearms.

Of interest, the German-style sallet was the model for the World War I Imperial Stahlhelm, and thereby the helmets that followed it all the way down to modern PASGT k-pots.

And here is an old one.

In the drink

In the drink

...Recovered

…Recovered

Along with other pieces...

Along with other pieces…

...And sword

…And sword

After preservation

After preservation

As noted by a Russian website, complete with the standard vodka references:

German sallet raised from the river Vihra (Belarus) at a depth of 3 meters. Fisherman caught in the dragnet. Suggested as a museum for 2 bottles of vodka (5$) a Mstislavsky District Historical and Archaeological Museum.

Later, the fisherman realized that lost a lot from this exchange and tried to return the helmet back, but it was too late. There archaeologists have found perfectly preserved steel armor of the sixteenth century with poddospeshnikom from buffalo leather and brass plates, gloves, arm rest, chainmail. Elements of the linen and leather clothing knight also found. Presumably helmet was lost in 1502.

People say that the fishermen found another and a sword, but sold for 3 bottles of vodka (7$) that any collector.