#40 • Antique Box of Winchester .38 S & W Centerfire Blank Cartridges

Part of Antique Ammunition Online Auction (timed auction by Linkous Auction Group)

High bid $7.00

Status: Sold

Antique box of Winchester Repeating Arms Company .38 Smith & Wesson centerfire blank cartridges, produced in New Haven, Connecticut, with the plain tan and red "W" label design dating this box to approximately the 1920s to 1930s. Blank cartridges in this caliber were widely used for starting pistols, military training exercises, theatrical productions, and ceremonial purposes, where the sound and flash of a firing cartridge were needed without a projectile. The box contains a full 50 rounds across two stacked layers, and the cartridges are distinctive dark oxidized brass cases with natural cork plugs crimped into the case mouths in place of a bullet, topped with small centered centerfire primers head stamped "W.R.A. Co. .38 S&W." The cork plug construction is a classic hallmark of early American blank ammunition, designed to create sufficient back pressure for reliable cycling while disintegrating harmlessly upon firing.