This dug bullet looks like a short Minie bullet, but it\'s actually an ultra-ultra-rare \"Podewils-Lindner\" bullet manufactured in Bavaria in the late 1850s, early 1860s. I personally dug this over 30 years ago on a Franco-Prussian War battlefield from the 1870-1871 war. It is a dropped bullet- not fired. Compare this bullet to the other bullet in the pictures, the taller one, a standard 3-ring Minie bullet I dug in Virginia 26 years ago. The Podewils-Lindner is on the left; the Civil War American-made Minie is on the right (the taller of the two).This rifle started off as a Podewils muzzle-loading rifle, dated \"1858\". It was then altered into a breech-loader by a design from Edward Lindner in 1867, the year after the Germans had crushed the Austrians in a very short-lived war. The Podewils-Lindner bullet was only used in one war- period, that being the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. Further, it was only carried by a few regiments in the Bavarian army that was supporting (at the last minute) the Prussians under Bismarck. See the photos I\'ve listed of this exact breach-loading Podewils-Lindner rifle. This button is a Civil War-era button and I\'m not sure if any were ever imported by the North or South for use in our Civil War. They\'re pretty much the same caliber as anything fired by our armies. If you are a bullet collector, I challenge you to find something as rare as this...and in this condition. Plus you\'re getting it from the person who dug it decades ago. Remember, this is a Model 1858 Podewils rifle, so there is some possibility that this rifle was imported into the USA during the Civil War; I would lean more toward the U.S. Army than the Confederate side. Civil War bullet collectors might have a definitive answer on this. Again, this is NOT a French Minie bullet and shouldn\'t be listed as such. I\'ve seen a couple of these at some Civil War shows about 20 years ago or more, but didn\'t know what they were at the time and did not recognize it as the same type I\'d dug in Europe.** If you\'re a dug bullet collector, please let your friends know about this bullet. I want to find this rare bullet a new home in a bullet collection that is first-rate.

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