Help with Cannonball?!

[tzeitel]

I bought at an auction what I was told is a Civil War Naval Battle cannonball. It weighs about 90lbs. and is approx 9" in diameter. There are flat spots on it.I'm trying to find out if it is a cannonball or not and whether it could be from the civil war. Any help would be great! Thanks!

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

Hello tzeitel, welcome to the forums.

Help should be on the way.
Paging @ucvrelics.com @Frederick14Va

 

[John Winn]

It's a little hard to say just from your photos but at this point it's possibly a nine-inch naval shot. Do some careful measuring: diameter should be 8.8 inches. Any bigger than that would indicate it's not a cannon ball (the bore diameter was nine inches and the shot had to be a little smaller). Weight was nominally 88 pounds but a few pounds difference could be expected. The flat spots you mention are a bit troubling as a cannon ball would not be out of round. Perhaps you could get some good photos of those spots ? That would be very helpful.

Others will no-doubt be along before long to help out.

 

[JOHN42768]

Welcome. enjoy

 

[UCVRelics]

Welcome From The Heart Of Dixie. I have agree @John Winn the flat spots lead me to a hammer mill ball that was used to crush ore, rock etc. Many people mistake them for cannon balls. The best way to avoid this is to buy ones with a fuse hole or an artillery shell.

 

[tzeitel]

I measured it again - this time more accurately. It is 8.8". The flat spots can't be seen in a photo. I can't see them looking at it, but I can feel a few small flat spots when I rub my hand over the surface.

 

[John Winn]

I measured it again - this time more accurately. It is 8.8". The flat spots can't be seen in a photo. I can't see them looking at it, but I can feel a few small flat spots when I rub my hand over the surface.

Well, it's the right diameter and the right weight so it very well could be a naval nine inch shot. I don't know what to say about the flat spots. I suppose if it is a cannon ball it could have been subjected to some type of abuse that would have caused those but I don't know what that might have been. Being out of round is usually a reliable indicator of an artifact being something other than a cannon ball.

Not sure what to tell you. If you are close to a museum that deals with those sorts of objects you might be able to get a pro to look at it. Or maybe just enjoy it, assume it is a cannon ball, and challenge the doubters prove you wrong !

 

[alan polk]

Please find below article by Peter George. This should help you with a determination as to it authenticity.


http://www.pochefamily.org/books/SolidShotEssentialsMod.html

 

[tzeitel]

Thank you all for your help!