American Civil War Relics Catalog

Antique Cartridges - Cartridges - Civil War Cartridges

Scarce .28 Cupfire Cartridge – Cylindrical/Flat Cup Variant

Item #: Z9349

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Z9349 Scarce .28 Cupfire Cartridge – Cylindrical/Flat Cup Variant

Description: Decent example of the scarcer .28 Cupfire cartridge featuring the cylindrical or flat cup design. Unlike the more common examples with a smoothly rounded cup, this early variant has a sharp 90-degree angle at the base and a flat bottom surface.

It is loaded with a round-nose bullet seated in a copper case and capped with lubricant. The case exhibits a five-segment bullet seating crimp. This particular example is a dud, showing a single firing-pin strike on the rear edge. The copper has developed a dark patina with a few age spots, and there is a small push at the case mouth.

These cartridges were used in the .28 Plant and Eagle Arms revolvers and were originally patented by Willard C. Ellis and John N. White on July 12, 1859 (Patent No. 24,726). The fulminate was held in the rear edge of the cup rather than the rim, a design that allowed Ellis & White to circumvent the Rollin White and Smith & Wesson patents with their front-loading cartridge system.

Headstamp: None

Measures: OAL .908” D .277”

Reference: "Round Ball to Rimfire” Unlisted

Reference: Buttweiler’s Vol. 8 No.1, No. 24

Reference: "U.S. Cartridges and their Handguns” Suydam Pg. 36-37

Price: $35.00 UPS Shipping Required

Shipping Weight: 0.5 lb

Your Price$35.00 USD

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We DO NOT sell modern guns, all our inventory will be Pre-1898 and are classified by the ATF as antiques and require no government paperwork to own.

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Ian Workman

American Civil War Relics & Military Antiques