Lead Pots…
Well, that’s what i thought they were about fifty years ago, until, i was told their exact purpose in life, it was my science teacher, who at the time was a mine of information about everything, but was a whizz at most things firearm related, who then proceeded to explain that they were in fact, civil war powder measure “caps” which fit over the ends of the powder carriers, and are attached via two strings to slide up and down, allowing access to the powder, although classed as a powder measure, that is a bit of a misnomer, as they were not used as a measuring tool, they were acutely caps, to cover the powder carrier…if you find what looks like a 
powder cap but is a round piece of lead, with the two arms, it could be a powder cap which had a wooden base, in times of need, lead was best used to fire at an enemy…
As you can see on the left, the arms with the holes were never protruding out, but were folded in, this was to keep the cap from moving out of position and either losing your powder or letting moisture in, if it was to tight, it was an easy task just to pop up the arm and free the cap, to slide up and down the cord…
After being lost or discarded, & being made of lead which is malleable, these powder caps soon become distorted, after being turned over in the ground by the plough, or cultivator’s… 
as seen on the pas website, when we find these as metal detecting finds they tend to be somewhat flat, broken or totally destroyed… the other thing to remember here is that these powder caps came in other material… End Note
Northeast Detectorist 
Leave a Reply