What is this? Mill Ball or Real?

[J.H. Moose]

A friend of mine who deals relics asked me to help in identifying a "cannonball" given to him by someone in Lexington NC. The ball is purported to have come from Salisbury, NC which had an arsenal that produced Read shells, polygonal cavity shells, and a multitude of various other ordnance.

When I first looked at the ball I had my doubts, its slightly larger than a 12# and looks like it might be too small to be a 24#, I wasn't able to weigh the ball or get exact measurements however I was able to compare it next to a 12# CS polygonal cavity shell which was manufactured at Salisbury Arsenal.

The biggest concern I had, however, were these two small circle indentations on one side of the shell, about 3 inches apart from one another and roughly 1 inch in diameter.

These two features don't look like anything I've seen on a solid shot and I believe them to be yet another smoking gun to this not being a cannonball. I'm really a novice when it comes to solid shot so I can't be certain, I'm decently convinced it's a mill ball or ore crusher of some kind though. What's the verdict?

 

[UCVRelics]

I believe it is indeed a mill ball as the 2 circles are the tell.

 

[redbob]

I was at a gun show and someone offered to sell me a 12# cannonball, that had been in his family "since the war". I looked at it and had to painfully explain to him that as far as I knew, they never put the weights on spherical ordnance; but they did on shotputs and I guess that his ancestor had been on Grant's track team. I'm starting to have a nice little collection of shotputs, mill balls, bedstead balls and andiron tops. If interested in having any of these little prizes, just call BR-549 and ask for Skippy.

 

[captaindrew]

I was at a gun show and someone offered to sell me a 12# cannonball, that had been in his family "since the war". I looked at it and had to painfully explain to him that as far as I knew, they never put the weights on spherical ordnance; but they did on shotputs and I guess that his ancestor had been on Grant's track team. I'm starting to have a nice little collection of shotputs, mill balls, bedstead balls and andiron tops. If interested in having any of these little prizes, just call BR-549 and ask for Skippy.

BR-549 would be the one and only Junior Samples He could probably sell one at Sample's Sales, my favorite show, sorry... carry on

 

[J.H. Moose]

I was at a gun show and someone offered to sell me a 12# cannonball, that had been in his family "since the war". I looked at it and had to painfully explain to him that as far as I knew, they never put the weights on spherical ordnance; but they did on shotputs and I guess that his ancestor had been on Grant's track team. I'm starting to have a nice little collection of shotputs, mill balls, bedstead balls and andiron tops. If interested in having any of these little prizes, just call BR-549 and ask for Skippy.

My old High School is getting rid of a ton of their old rusty shotput balls for new equipment, I imagine the local market will soon flood with "Confederate cannonballs"

 

[Cato3rd]

My old High School is getting rid of a ton of their old rusty shotput balls for new equipment, I imagine the local market will soon flood with "Confederate cannonballs"

Weirdly enough, I have a 12 pound Bormann shell (minus the fuse and under-plug) that was being used a middle school boys' shot put. How it ended up at the school and being used as a shot put is still a mystery. It's surprising that ACW stuff is still floating around being used for odd things

 

[J.H. Moose]

Weirdly enough, I have a 12 pound Bormann shell (minus the fuse and under-plug) that was being used a middle school boys' shot put. How it ended up at the school and being used as a shot put is still a mystery. It's surprising that ACW stuff is still floating around being used for odd things

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Wonder if the girls' team had a 6# Bormann