Original Item: Only One Available. This is a nice original Civil War era tin boiler, commonly referred to by collectors as a “mucket,” retaining its folding wire carry handle but now missing the lid.

Small covered boilers of this general type were widely used by Civil War soldiers for heating water, cooking simple meals, and especially boiling coffee. They could be issued through military channels, privately acquired, or improvised from available tinware, which accounts for the wide variety of surviving forms and construction details.

This example has a cylindrical tin body measuring approximately 4 inches in diameter and 4 inches tall. The wire carry handle is still present and attaches to a pair of side loops secured with rivets.

The lid is no longer present.

The underside of the cup has several very faint scratched or etched markings. These may originally have represented a soldier’s name or ownership marks, but they are now too worn to decipher with confidence.

There are no visible maker or arsenal markings that we can see.

The surface shows the expected age, staining, oxidation, dents, and handling wear associated with original 19th century field equipment. The simple construction and surviving handle give it a strong utilitarian appearance characteristic of Civil War camp and mess gear.

A very evocative piece of Civil War era soldier equipment, particularly appealing for a display focused on camp life, mess gear, or the everyday material culture of the common soldier.