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1873 50/70 FRANKFORD ARSENAL AMMUNITION PACKET:
Issued for use in the US Army .50 caliber rifles and
carbines alike during the 1866-1873 era, this original
20 Round “CENTRE PRIMED METALLIC CARTRIDGES CALIBRE .50”
packet was produced at the Frankford Arsenal in December
of 1873, and is complete with all twenty of the original
internally primed copper cartridges. The packet wrapper
is intact and the pull string is present, still glued
under the paper wrapper. The paper label is full form
and is completely legible. One end of the packet is
missing as can be seen in the photos. It appears that
the box was dropped and the weight of the contents broke
out the thin end portion of the paper wrapper. The
other end is completely intact. The top, bottom, front
and rear surfaces of these packets were made of
paperboard, where as the ends were simply closed by the
folds of the paper wrapper and thus were the weak points
of these packets. As the paper aged, the end paper
covering became brittle, and if the packet was dropped
or handled improperly the weight of the cartridges would
easily damage the ends. Still, despite the open end,
this remains a scarce, desirable, early and historically
significant Indian War ammunition packet that is
difficult to find available on today’s market, and will
be a nice specimen to add to your collection. $750
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