old and odd ammo

[DeepbluePA]

I just inherited a box of stuff, Mostly ammo. Its old, some of which appears to be very old . It is in a 30 gallon rubber tote and it is mostly full a lot of it is shotgun ammo. A lot of 12 and some 20 Gauge. Most of the shotgun ammo is modern but I did come across some old cardboard stuff. Some is in boxes, some is loose and, some is in bags. The boxes from the really old stuff is not in good shape if it is there at all

Also there is a bunch of regular ammo mostly rifle in the same shape. Some in boxes, some in bags of just a few rounds. I only got a chance to take a quick look through it. Some of the stuff I have heard of like 22 jet. There is also a lot of old western calibers I wasn’t really familiar with. The ones with dashes like .44-40 but there are several different calibers, and there is a box with a bunch of shells that have no markings on the brass but are huge in the neighborhood of a 20 Ga. shell, they are not slugs just close in size for example purposes. I haven’t had a chance to get out the caliper.

Most of the oldest stuff is not in great shape. Should I just toss the old stuff?
If I get any interest in the thread I’ll get a better list together.

[mauser]

Don't just toss it. There are collectors who might be interested in some of what you have there. Boxes can have value too, depending on rarity and condition. Be careful to try to preserve what you have until you get pictures and descriptions posted. I'm not trying to get your hopes up, you might have a barrel full of stuff that isn't worth any more than the value of the scrap metal of the components, but there may be something in there that someone would like to add to their collection.
Compile a list and take a few pictures but don't put a lot of time into it thinking that you're sitting on a gold mine. My guess is that there is a bunch of common stuff that isn't in demand with a possibility of a few desirable pieces. You won't know until you present everything, in the mean time treat everything like it might be that desirable piece, even the boxes. I'm not a collector but I have sold some old ammo to collectors. Don't expect a lot from anything, but don't damage anything either. If I can find his # there's a guy not far from me who has an interest in old shotgun shells and boxes, especially paper shells.
Look them over and post some more detailed info.

[wizzegun]

+1 on Mauser.

Research the ammo. Use this as a learning experience. .44-40 is an old western cowboy days caliber. The .44 is the bullet caliber and 40 was how many grains of black powder was used as a propellant. Of course, BP isn't used commercially anymore but that is still that "caliber." You may have 16 gauge shotgun shells mixed in. I received some old ammo and I learned alot. Have fun!