The rarest of the rare from the most famous Civil War battle in American history: Authenticated and original .52 caliber Sharps New Model 1863 Carbine Minie' ball recovered from the Gettysburg battlefield!
This Minie’ ball was excavated in the early 1970s, before the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (ARPS) was enacted. Every Spring, local children followed behind farmer’s tractors in search of Minie’ balls such as this, and sold them for pocket change to Pie Antiques, a small shop then located across the road from where General Lee’s Headquarters once stood. During this period, the renown Civil War historian Larry Marple acquired much of his vast collection of Civil War memorabilia from Pie Antiques - including this Minie’ ball, which Marple identified as proprietary to the Sharps New Model 1863 Carbine. Larry Marple retired in 2024 and began selling off his collection. Ron Cole of Cole’s Aircraft acquired over 800 assorted Minie’ balls from Marple’s collection through Alexander Historical Auctions, among them forty-three identified .52 caliber Sharps Minie’ balls - including this example attached to this display.
It has been illegal to search for and or remove anything from the Gettysburg battlefield since 1979 - and rightfully so! But this rare piece of Gettysburg battle Civil War history was legally acquired before the law.
Of roughly 800 Gettysburg Minie' balls acquired by Ron Cole from the collection of Larry Marple, only 43 have been identified by Mr. Marple as this rare .52 Sharps Carbine variant.
This Sharps Minie' ball has been combined in this 8.5x11-inch (artwork size) black-framed wall-hanging display, signed & numbered by Ron Cole. Full history and provenance framed on the reverse of this display - double signed & numbered -- 1 of only 40!
No discount codes, please! These will not last long.
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