The West in the Civil War Poker Chip Bullet
Fort Craig Area, New Mexico Territory
Built 1854, Abandoned 1885
 
In between fighting and patrols soldiers would gamble to pass the time. Hard currency was a rarity on the Frontier, so ammunition was flattened and substituted as poker chips. This is a rare original example that was saved from destruction by metal detectorist working on private property in the 1960's.
 
- Fort Craig 
Fort Craig was a U.S. Army fort located along El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, near Elephant Butte Lake State Park and the Rio Grande in Socorro County, New Mexico. The Fort Craig site was approximately 1,050 feet east-west by 600 feet north-south and was located on 40 acres.