Cannon Ball?

[rlwood]

I found this item in at the head of a small branch on a farm. There are no residences near this area. It measures 10" around, and weighs 19 oz. the way it is. I couldn't make out a seam around it with all of the rust. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

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[parsonwalker]

Cannonball Guy is your best bet. Sure looks good for a ball . . .

 

[Armor9]

There was another thread like this with a similar dimensions and weight and there was talk of it being an early grenade.

 

[A2coins]

looks like an iron age bowling ball lol that is really cool thanks for posting it

 

[smokeythecat]

It looks like a shell to me, too big for a grenade. Maybe earlier than the Civil War, I can't tell by the pics.

 

[gsxraddict]

I'd say it's a Boremann shell but the weight is really confusing me, I don't know what one weights with no powder, fuse or case shots.

 

[nhbenz]

Hmm, actually the size is within the range talked about in the other thread. The 10 inch circumference mentioned above means the diameter is just over 3 inches.

 

[Armor9]

It looks like a shell to me, too big for a grenade. Maybe earlier than the Civil War, I can't tell by the pics.

Well he says it is 10" around. If he means 10" circumference that means the diameter is 3.1". Now if he means 10" diameter than the circumference would be 31". So I guess the question is what is the OP's definition of "around" because 3.1" is pretty small for an exploding shell IMO.

With it weight only 19oz I am guessing it is not a circumference of 31".

 

[Rookster]

I found this item in at the head of a small branch on a farm. There are no residences near this area. It measures 10" around, and weighs 19 oz. the way it is. I couldn't make out a seam around it with all of the rust. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

My son's father in law that lives in civil war territory out in the country was picking up trash along the road he lives on and found one this size that weighs 2.2lbs complete and was told by a war historian that is is a Grape Shot. It should measure about 3" in dia. I will try to find or get Jeff to resend me the pic of it. He found his of all places, laying on his ditch bank. A surface find. I will sent his pic asap. Nice find. Congrats.

 

[Armor9]

My son's father in law that lives in civil war territory out in the country was picking up trash along the road he lives on and found one this size that weighs 2.2lbs complete and was told by a war historian that is is a Grape Shot. It should measure about 3" in dia. I will try to find or get Jeff to resend me the pic of it. He found his of all places, laying on his ditch bank. A surface find. I will sent his pic asap. Nice find. Congrats.

Are they usually hollow?

 

[rlwood]

Thanks for everyone's posts. The 10" is the circumference of the ball. I will double check the diameter tonight. I don't know how to calculate the weight of the part that is missing. Thanks

 

[Armor9]

Thanks for everyone's posts. The 10" is the circumference of the ball. I will double check the diameter tonight. I don't know how to calculate the weight of the part that is missing. Thanks

Good point, I'd say 1/3 is missing. If circumference is 10" the diameter would have to be approx. 3.1"

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Rlwood, did you get the ball's circumference measurement by using a tape, or by a caliper? The difference is very important. Here's why.

As Armor9 indicated, 10-inches Circumference divided by Pi (3.1416) means the diameter is 3.18-inches. BUT, the ball's circumference APPARENTLY was measured with some thick rust-encrustation on it... which means the measurement would be smaller if the rust-encrustation was completely removed.

If that ball was mine, I would use a hammer to knock off the encrustation on two spots exactly 180-degrees opposite from each other, and then use a digital caliper to get the diameter measurement.

Until we get a caliper measurement:
3.18 inches is in the size-range for a Colonial era French 4-Pounder cannonball, and a Colonial era British Navy "Boarding Grenade." But the photos show the ball's walls are too thin to be an explosive cannonball... so I'd have to go with a grenade, UNTIL we get the more-accurate diameter measurement.

Also "meanwhile":
The World War One French Model-1914 ball or rod (rifle) grenade was an 81mm (3.19-inch) cast-iron ball with thin walls, to keep it light enough for achieving good range as a rifle-grenade. So, if your thin-walled ball really does measure 3.18-inch or so, that's what I think you've got.

More info on the French Model-1914 ball or rod grenade is available here, with photos:
French Ball Rod Grenade - Inert-Ord.net

It's understandable that you might ask, how the heck can a World War One French ball-grenade get dug here in the US (Kentucky, apparently). The answer is, various types of French Military Ordnance got tested by US troops here during World War One. Believe it or not, here's a photo of a WW1 French ball-grenade that was dug at Vicksburg's entrenchments. Soldiers like to train in entrenchments, and it didn't matter to them at all that the entrenchments were 55 years old.

 

[Armor9]

Excellent info there. Very interesting find.

 

[civil_war22]

I’ve found very similar before. I need to relocate that dang ball I’ve got and check the circumference on it

 

[rlwood]

I used a cloth tape. I can try to get a caliper and recheck the measurements. I will try to clean off some of the rust also. Thanks for everyone's help!

 

[rlwood]

Good morning everyone. I was finally able to get more accurate measurements with a caliper, and a postal scale. The diameter is 3.123. The thickness is 0.25, and the weight of what is there is 18.5 oz. Still appreciate everyone's thoughts on this. Thanks

 

[A2coins]

Great find

 

[rlwood]

I was finally able to get more accurate measurements with a caliper, and a postal scale. The diameter is 3.123. The thickness is 0.25, and the weight of what is there is 18.5 oz. Still appreciate everyone's thoughts on this. Thanks

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Measured at precisely .25-inch thick, your 3.12"-diameter hollow ball's wall-thickness is too thin to be a grenade from the civil war or earlier. Because I can't think of any Civilian-usage hollow iron balls with those measurements, if pressed to make a guess, I'd say it is a slightly undersize World War One French rod-grenade. As you can see in the photo I posted above showing one of those with a hole in it, the wall-thickness is about 1/4-inch.

(A rod-grenade is a type of Rifle-Grenade.)

However, if you ever get around to doing Electrolysis rust-removal on it, if it turns out to have an extremely prominent raised casting-mold seam on it, my guess would change.