Brass Caps

[arcticap]

I recently came across these Italian CVA #11 percussion caps that are made of brass. The black primer material also has a different look to it.
With the high price of copper, I can't help but wonder if more caps will be made out of brass in the not so distant future.

Does anyone recall shooting these or any other similiar Italian or brass caps and how did they fire?

 

[F.G. Ford]

Sir,
With the amount of copper that is in a box of caps, your cost increase would be ab out .25 cents, and there would be profit in the increase.
The cost of making brass would be higher than the increase of copper.
BUT rest assured, they will justify an increase as if $4.00 a can is not enough,
Percussion caps are very cheap to manufacture, why are they almost twice the price of regular rifle primers?
Best Regards

Old Ford

 

[Blizzard of '93]

Thanks for posting, they look to be well made but I have no idea about the compound, copper is used to make brass so the cost factor is insignificant.

 

[twotoescharlie]

still using some that I purchased from Herter's over 40 years ago. they work just fine but are corrosive.

 

[arcticap]

You're probably right about the price of copper being only a small fraction of the price of the caps. I was thinking about the difference in the price of brass vs. the price of copper, and whether more companies might start producing brass caps if it was more economical, yet worked just as well.
For instance, the U.S. penny is currently only copper covered zinc when previously it was 95% copper and 5% tin and/or zinc depending on the date made. Similarly, maybe brass would become a more widely accepted substitute for copper if there was a noticiable retail price difference and they worked satisfactorily.
I guess that's not going to happen in the near future though, even though these Italian caps were produced with brass in the past for a reason.