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FRANKFORD ARSENAL 44
CALIBER
“MARTIN PRIMED” AMMUNITION PACKET FOR THE SMITH & WESSON
ARMY REVOLVER – DATED AUGUST 1871 – EARLY FRONTIER ARMY PACKET:
Manufactured at the Frankford Arsenal in August of 1871,
this 12 round box of .44 caliber "Martin Primed" ammunition was produced
for the Smith & Wesson “American” Revolvers in use by
the army. As Smith & Wesson American revolvers were in use for a
relatively brief period, these early Indian War packets
are fairly rare and are not regularly available on the
collector’s market.
This packet was
opened at some time in the past and the cartridges
removed. In years gone by, the practice of
collecting a single representative cartridge far
outweighed the importance of full, unopened packets.
From the stories that have survived the years describing
the sales at the cartridge collector shows of the 1960's
and 1970's, not only were full, mint condition packets
opened to sell the individual cartridges - to add insult
to injury the empty packets were then discarded as so
much trash by the 55 gallon drum-full. Its a
wonder any packets from the Indian War era and before
exist at all. Hard to believe, isn't
it............
Someone saved this
packet from the trash heap and reassembled it in its
original form. While showing some evidence of age,
the packet is in full form, is now resealed, and the
pull string is still intact. The label is 99%
legible, with only some loss of the word "MARTIN" which
indicated the cartridges were Martin primed.
The edges are sharp, all of
the seams are intact, and the packet is very solid.
The packet is
not fragile, is very tight, retains the proper form and
shape, and the paper wrapper is in very good condition.
It appears the part of the wrapper which covered the top
panel was lost, but this is not readily apparent and the
original packet wall still survives and does not detract
from the overall appearance of the packet. Once
this packet was reassembled, it was given a coat of the
same lacquer which was used to coat the packets when
they were originally produced.
While this packet is
empty, this is a scarce opportunity to acquire a
representative example of these early packets at a much
lower price than the cost of a full packet. And
too, if you live in Alaska, Hawaii, or overseas, it is
impossible to ship a full packet, so this packet would
be a good alternative to fill a hole in your collection. Whether you own a Smith & Wesson
revolver at this time or not, this .44 Caliber pistol
cartridge packet from the early Indian Wars period is a
key Frankford Arsenal specimen to add to your
collection.
(0213) $250
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