Ammo What do you think about these?

[Ethan S.]

I was just looking at these canister rounds, or so called "pumpkin balls" and I wanted to know what y'all think. They look to be 12 LB. Canister shot to me, and no signs of being confederate. This is a very popular ebay seller, and I'd like to take his word on it, but I'm just not sure. They look to "perfect" to me.

Vintage Antique Civil War Relic Confederate Canister Cannonball Shot Appomattox | eBay

Buy it Now! You will Receive One Confederate Canister Shot that was Fired from a Civil War Cannon in Appomattox Virginia. These are the Big Boys. Makes a Nice Display. Now is your Chance to Buy Straight from the Relic Hunter.

rover.ebay.com

 

[Ethan S.]

Oh, and P.S. You'll be seeing more artillery questions from me in the future.

 

[UCVRelics]

There is NO way to confirm they are CS but that is up to you.

 

[redbob]

If you want to see the price jump on anything Civil War, put the word Confederate with it. Also, a great online reference for artillery items is www.civilwarartillery.com And, bring on the questions...

 

[Ethan S.]

There is NO way to confirm they are CS but that is up to you.

I think I should have worded it better. I know the odds of knowing exactly if they are CS, is almost impossible, but what I meant to say is, do they look like ball bearings, or actual relics? I've seen some canister as smooth as silk, and others are rusted pitted blobs, so I am no judge of condition.

I guess it depends on the soil. Culpeper soil eats everything, but Kentucky soil is perfect for iron. I'm not sure about Appomattox soil...I'm wondering out loud again.

 

[redbob]

Perhaps a little too perfect and if you look at what all that he is selling, there appears to be a great deal from Appomattox and all of it came from a relic digger.

 

[Ethan S.]

Well that's how most relics come about for sale, relic diggers. Hmm.

 

[Ethan S.]

There is one guy I trust on the matter, another ebay seller. I just posted these to get a second opinion, just because sometimes I'm too curious.

 

[redbob]

There is one guy I trust on the matter, another ebay seller. I just posted these to get a second opinion, just because sometimes I'm too curious.

It's your money, you can never be too curious and deal with someone you trust.

 

[Ethan S.]

I'm protective of my money, so no matter what I buy, even if I don't post on a forum, I always ask questions from somebody.

 

[Ethan S.]

These look a bit more believable.

 

[redbob]

I have had smooth canister shot, but they are usually from an undug round and what I have usually gotten with a dug round looks like those above unless they have been tumbled clean and then they are usually somewhat smaller than what shot tables list.

 

[Ethan S.]

I have many multiples of the small ones. They usually look rusty, but I clean them up, and they look close to perfection, save some mold seam issues.

 

[redbob]

Here is an undug (but poorly stored) 32# canister that I have been working on with relatively smooth canister balls.

 

[Ethan S.]

Man, those are purdy!

 

[DixieRifles]

These look a bit more believable.

These look more like the condition of the small cannon balls that I have seen dug from this area.

Could someone post the Table from the Artillery Manual that lists Shot Size, Diameter and Weight.
I think the No. 10 Shot is about 1.5 inch diameter and maybe 10 Ounces.

 

[redbob]

Man, those are purdy!

When I got the round, the balls were primarily dirty and lightly rusted. With a little work, they cleaned up well.

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

How do you clean them without spoiling them or over cleaning them? Also, you have them in a glass liner protecting the original tin liner. How do you take the rounds out without damaging the tin liner?

 

[Ethan S.]

Ammo - Cleaning Case, Canister and Grape | Relic Hunting & Collecting

This how I clean my case/canister/grape when it is chunky and rusty. Feel free to fast forward through the intro to the cleaning part. This is my first narrated video, and I think I was a train wreck...

civilwartalk.com

I do it this way. I should add that brass wire brush, followed by a normal wire brush should get all the rust off. I also use Dawn dishsoap and a toothbrush to clean all rust dust off. Add WD-40, and you're set! At least that's how I do it...

 

[redbob]

How do you clean them without spoiling them or over cleaning them? Also, you have them in a glass liner protecting the original tin liner. How do you take the rounds out without damaging the tin liner?

I was fortunate that these canister balls were mostly dirty and with only a little light rust on them. Hot soapy water with a little light rubbing with 0000 steel wool cleaned them, then I put them in boiling water to further clean them, afterwards I took them out and put them on a cooling rack to cool and once they were cool and before they could start to rust again I coated them with a wax based coating. Because the tin can was in such sad shape, I chose to put the canister parts in a plexiglass tube that was approximately the diameter of the original can and I mounted this on a wooden base. When assembling, first went in the bottom iron plate, then the sides of the can, then the balls, the top plate and the can's lid. I then glued a plexiglass plate that I had cut to size to fit the top of the tube. And there you have it.