.50 caliber armor piercing shell.  Not uranium after all. 
I had high hopes that this rifle shell contained a depleted uranium core.  But it doesn't.  Analysis by x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy at the Center for Microanalysis of Materials, University of Illinois (partially supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under grant DEFG02-91-ER45439) revealed the following composition for the core of the shell (the cladding having been cut away on a lathe): 
    98.84% Iron 
    0.54% Molybdenum 
    0.47% Lead 
    0.16% Copper 
No uranium.   
Source: eBay seller accurateimage 
Contributor: Theodore Gray 
Acquired: 31 July, 2002 
Text Updated: 29 January, 2009 
Price: $10/each 
Size: 2.5" 
Purity: 98.84%
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