130 Year Old Lead

[M_Phipps]

I have two lead ingots that are at least 130 years old and weigh about 150lbs each.
Being new to bullet casting and lead alloys, my question is would lead ingots of this time period have any desirable properties that I could not get from the usual salvage sources?

Thanks,
Michael P.

[canebreaker]

Use it for small split shot on pinch-on sinkers.
Trade or sale to others that want pure lead.
Mix with ww/tin for hard casting.

[masscaster]

Hi M,
Very interesting indeed. If it's easily marred with a fingernail, or other sharp object it's probably soft lead. If it's got alot of Oxidization on it, it's probably got some harder alloy in it. At those ages for lead these are the easiest ways to tell. Furthermore, pouring it into manageable ingots will further the ability to check it's true nature.
masscaster
P.S. Where are you located? Any Pics available?

[sundog]

they are probably very 'rotted' by now. ship to me for proper disposal.

do you know anything about them other than the age?

[M_Phipps]

http://i899.photobucket.com/albums/ac200/M_Phipps/Ingot.jpg


They were recovered from a post Civil War era side paddle wheel steam ship sunk off the coast of SC
There were probably over 100 ingots when I recovered my two. They have since been salvaged.

[Lee W]

It might be worth more as "low alpha" lead. (like 5 x more?)

I am not sure how to test for it, but I am sure someone here does.

[canebreaker]

WOW, could be worth more than just the value of lead. For a history buff. Advertise on ebay, starting 2.00 per lb. plus shipping. Enter San Andres in search and include some info about it.

[crabo]

WOW, could be worth more than just the value of lead. For a history buff. Advertise on ebay, starting 2.00 per lb. plus shipping. Enter San Andres in search and include some info about it.

That's what I was thinking. I would hang it on the wall, just because it is cool.

[dominicfortune00]

As I understand it, lead from before the atomic age is worth more as it isn't contaminated by the trace radioactivity that is in the air since the first atomic bomb explosion.

[Vly]

You guys never heard of the lost Confederate gold????

After the Confederacy surrendered, a group of Confederate officers were given the task of preventing gold reserves from falling into the hands of Federal troops. No place was safe from the marauding Union troops, so they had the idea to hide them in plain sight. They dipped the gold bars in molten lead to make them look like pigs of lead.

The decision was made to move the gold to England by way of Bermuda. The gold was loaded on a side wheeler and left Charleston Harbor bound for Bermuda. A storm hit and the ship was lost at sea.

Thats the story as I have heard it.

[wills]

Vintage, its got to be Vintage on E bay. Remember the "backward N" Lyman intog that brought $60+?

[StarMetal]

San Andres was a lead mine in Doria Ana County NM.

Joe

[Stoats]

FFS, you would have to be mad to cast this up and shoot it.

Sell it on as pre-nuclear lead or to a collector

[peter nap]

You guys never heard of the lost Confederate gold????

After the Confederacy surrendered, a group of Confederate officers were given the task of preventing gold reserves from falling into the hands of Federal troops. No place was safe from the marauding Union troops, so they had the idea to hide them in plain sight. They dipped the gold bars in molten lead to make them look like pigs of lead.

The decision was made to move the gold to England by way of Bermuda. The gold was loaded on a side wheeler and left Charleston Harbor bound for Bermuda. A storm hit and the ship was lost at sea.

Thats the story as I have heard it.

BLASPHEMY :razz:

We haven't surrendered.....we jut took a little time off!

[bobthenailer]

there was a series of treasure quest on some channel, discover ? ect where they found a civil war sunken ship with alot of lead bars . this lead being ptroduced in the 1800s and being under water to avoid the poultion of radiation was worth a fortune to the electronics industry it had to be tested & verefied but the value if correct was allmost unbeliveable . i cant remember how valiauble but it would definattly be worth you while to get it checked . bob

[lathesmith]

I would guess, based on what little info I have gleaned from various sources on the subject, that there is a good probability that your lead might make the "low alpha" category. Those guys on that "Treasure hunters" series on the Discovery Channel found some of this, in similar circumstances as yours, and the stuff they found at that time had a market value in the $30-$50/lb range. It has to be lab tested though, and there are varying degrees--and hence values--of this stuff. If it were mine, I'd hesitate to melt it down, until I tried to find out more about it. Some hard research is definitely in order here...
lathesmith

[bobthenailer]

i made a mistake the series was named treasure quest! bob

[WILCO]

BLASPHEMY :razz:

We haven't surrendered.....we jut took a little time off!

Nope, you boys surrendered. I saw it on youtube.

[sheepdog]

Nope, you boys surrendered. I saw it on youtube.

My glorious nation of Texas, which never rejoined the union, is currently in a state of occupation by the foreign power known as the United States. But I'm waiting for the official declaration of UN recognition before I join the insurgency. :kidding:

[Baron von Trollwhack]

Pre-Condor lead control lead is extremely valuable in kaliforni. If a shot is fired with such a lead bullet, and there is no ear to hear it, it wasn't really fired. BvT

[scrapcan]

sheepdog,

Is this correct or are you guys dealing with bastardization of your constitution also. (remember I am married to an Aggie)

THE TEXAS CONSTITUTION

ARTICLE 1. BILL OF RIGHTS

Sec. 1. FREEDOM AND SOVEREIGNTY OF STATE. Texas is a free and independent State, subject only to the Constitution of the United States, and the maintenance of our free institutions and the perpetuity of the Union depend upon the preservation of the right of local self-government, unimpaired to all the States.

[Andy_P]

It might be worth more as "low alpha" lead. (like 5 x more?)

I am not sure how to test for it, but I am sure someone here does.

Bingo, but more like 100X.

[mold maker]

Isn't lead (galena) the byproduct of the half life of radioactive material??
Lead is a barrier to radiation, not a sponge to absorbe it.

[Heavy lead]

Nope, you boys surrendered. I saw it on youtube.

Please, please...................................... somebody do a Snopes check!:bigsmyl2: