Description
THE BULLET THAT WON THE BRITISH EMPIRE.
This is an ORIGINAL Victorian British Martini Henry Rifle bullet head from heyday of the British Empire. As well as an original bullet head, you also get: a Martini-Henry Rifle information card, a small Perspex display box, a card of authenticity with a unique number that corresponds with the number on the Perspex box and a display card that can be fitted to a 6 inch x 5 inch Riker display case (the Riker case itself is NOT included in this particular lot, bit is available separately if you view our other items).
The Martini-Henry rifle is one of the most famous rifles in military history and this is a wonderful display of an original fired bullet head. These bullet heads were recovered from a disused Victorian British Army firing range by a metal detectorist. This is a must for any collector of late 19th Century ammunition and bullets. Or would make a great gift for any fan of the film Zulu!
THE .577 / .450 MARTINI-HENRY RIFLE
In 1871 at the height of the Victorian age, the British Army issued a new breech loading rifle to its Regiments: the .577 / .450 Martini-Henry Rifle. Over the coming decades this Rifle would see service across the globe from the Australian frontier to the Indian Raj. It was its use during colonial wars such as in Afghanistan and The Sudan that would spur the British Army to victories in dozens of battles and in turn lead the British Empire to an epoch of imperial expansion and the legendary ‘Scramble for Africa’. Yet it was during the Zulu War of 1879, at the Battles of Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift where the rifle would truly attain its status as one of the British Army’s most iconic fighting weapons and become the rifle that won the British Empire.
