Old percussion caps

[RhinoDave]

I picked up three tins of old <a href='/tags/11' rel='nofollow' title='See all tagged subjects with: #11'>#11</a> percussion caps at one of our local gun shows for $4 One is a old tin of Remingtons and the other two are Navy Arms that were made in the UK. Both of these have much thicker copper sheet material. The lower caps are new CCI and Remington <a href='/tags/11s' rel='nofollow' title='See all tagged subjects with: #11s'>#11s</a>. for comparison. Anyone have an idea of who the English manufacturer of the Navy Arms caps was? Haven't tried to use any of these yet. The remingtons show their age but the Navy Arms caps look brand new.

 

[Buck Conner1]

The green box is worth empty what you paid for full, these collectors will probably go even higher.  

I have dozens of new condition boxes of 22LR ammo (different brands) that were purchased in the late 1950's. These ammo collectors go nuts when I put a few out on the table at a gun show. Of late have been getting two for one trades (two new for one of the old).   :ttups:

 

[RhinoDave]

Just went to another gun show today and scored another old tin of English musket percussion caps. Any ideas as to how old or what kind of quality these are? Cost was $5.00 for the tin of 250 caps.

 

[Buck Conner1]

A Little History: Founded by Charles and William Eley in London in the 1820s. The Eley Brothers purchased the patent rights to the "wire cartridge" in the spring or early summer of 1828. The patent for “wire cartridge” was issued by the English Patent Office on 28 November 1827 to Joshua Jenour under Patent No. 5570. Mr. Jenour had been born in Fleet Street, London in 1755 and had previously been the owner and manager of the Daily Advertiser, a London newspaper. The 'wire cartridge' consisted of a wire cage which held the shot together during the first stages of its flight. Charles Eley had been the primary owner of the concern and the original wire cartridges had only the name of Charles Eley on them. The initial attempts to sell the Eley Wire Cartridge went poorly and Charles Eley withdrew from the business. During the mid-1830s, William Eley reinvigorated the company and began sell the "Improved Patent Wire Cartridges".

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In 1837 the company added percussion caps to their range and though William was killed in an explosion in 1841, his three sons helped carry on the business. His eldest son William Thomas forged an alliance with Samuel Colt, the two patenting a skin cartridge for use in the latter's revolvers.

After the WWI, Eley's, along with other firms, became part of Explosive Trades Ltd, this led to natural links between the two countries, and in the 1920s Eley's went into partnership with Fabrique Nationale (FN), buying out the Belgian firm of Cartoucherie Russo - Belge. However, the need for ammunition had slumped, and the Angel Road factory closed in 1921.