Offered here is one of the least commonly encountered bullet molds that is associated with US military Sharps rifles and carbines, a Martially Marked Gang Mold for Sharps Rifles and Carbines. The massive six cavity iron mold is 13 ¾” in total overall length with a 5 ¾” long mold block, 7” long handles with 6” long turned wood grips and a 6 ¾” long sprue cutter. The mold weighs in at a hefty 3 pounds, 10 ounces. The mold block is clearly marked in four lines on the right side and reads:

SHARP’S RIFLE

MANUFG. CO.

HARTFORD CONN.

U.S.

Further down the side, just above the handle, the mold is marked with the script WAT inspection mark of US Ordnance Officer William Anderson Thornton. The mold is also assembly numbered 29, with the mark found on both interior faces of the mold block, just above the handles, and on the bottom face of the sprue cutter.

As noted, this arsenal gang mold has six cavities, and they cast what collectors refer to as a “Ring Tail Sharps” bullet. The cavities are nominally .52 caliber with three grease grooves and smaller “ring tail” at the base which the paper cartridge paper containing the powder charge was tied to. The overall length of the cavities is nominally 1”. 

An identical mold is pictured in Volume I of the multi-volume set of books that were recently published on Sharps firearms, Sharps Firearms – The Percussion Era 1848-1865 by Roy Marcot, Ron Paxton & Edward W. Marron, Jr. The example pictured is from the collection of noted Sharps firearms expert and collector Dave Carter. The caption in the book notes that these molds were initially delivered with the Model 1853 Sharps Carbines and Rifles procured by the US Ordnance Department.  At the recent Las Vegas Antique Arms Show I had the opportunity to show this mold to Dave Carter and discuss it and he noted that they are extremely rare, and in his 50+ years of collecting and studying Sharps firearms and their accessories, he had only encountered a handful of these very rare martially marked and inspected gang molds.

The mold remains in VERY GOOD+ to NEAR FINE condition and is very crisp. The mold is 100% original and correct. The bright metal of the mold is moderately oxidized with a mottled brownish gray patina and some lightly scattered surface roughness on the metal components. The cavities remain crisp and sharp and are partly bright with some freckles of surface oxidation and discoloration on their interiors. No obvious wear or damage is noted in the cavities that would affect the ability of the mold to cast fine bullets. The mold is clearly marked as noted above, with only the script WAT inspection slightly obscured by the surface oxidation and discoloration. The mold operates smoothly, opening and closing as it should. The sprue cutter is currently frozen in place over the left side of the mold block, likely due to a tight hinge screw and possibly some oxidation. A little soaking in Kroil with a few brass mallet taps would likely free it up. The turned wood handles show moderate wear and scattered bumps, dings and mars from handling, use and storage. The two sheet iron ferrules at the ends of the handles are mostly bright with some freckled oxidation and with one of the ferrules slightly loose.

Overall, this is a very nice condition and extremely rare Martially Marked Sharps Arsenal Gang Mold with clear and crisp markings. Only one public sale of one of these molds could be found while doing research on it, with that example selling at auction for $8,500. For an advanced Sharps collector or an advanced US military mold collector, this would be a fantastic item to add to your collection. It is extremely unlikely another one of these inspected arsenal gang molds will be on the market again any time soon, so don’t miss your chance to add one of the rarest Civil War era US military gang molds to your collection.