Eastern Pennsylvania Cannonball?

[ajkissin]

A buddy of mine found this today and was asking what I thought. I honestly have no clue other than the brief internet research I did so I came here to the experts. What do you think? Any help is appreciated!

 

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[relic nut]

Looks like a counter weight. Don't think Cannonballs had seems. But I could be wrong.

HH, Relic Nut

 

[Retired Sarge]

Our very own TheCannonballGuy is the resident cannon ball guru, he will chime in here sooner or later. In the meantime the below link will take you to article that was co-authored by him, that will answer most if not all your questions.

SolidShotEssentialsMod

 

[tamrock]

I don't know for sure, but a counterweight for a scale or something would be my guess?.. My money's on cannonballguy giving a thumbs down on it being a cannon ball.

 

[NOLA_Ken]

The mold seam around it says it's not a cannon ball. Could be a gate weight, a topper from a cast iron fence post, etc....

 

[flyadive]

Cannonballs do have seams, perhaps yours is a starburst cannonball? You first have to post precise weight and caliper measurements to the nearest thoust!

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Well... at the time of the civil war, some cannonballs had a small moldseam, but the great majority didn't. Ordnance Department regulations specified that any "significant" moldseam was supposed to removed at the ironfoundry after the cannonball came out of the casting mold. A "projecting" or ragged-edged moldseam could snag on a powderbag (the cloth bag of propellant gunpowder which fired the ball out of the cannon). Also, a large-enough projecting moldseam could cause the ball to jam in the cannon's barrel during loading.

That having been said, I should mention that a larger moldseam was allowed during the Colonial era than in the 1800s, because in the Colonial era the ball did not fit as tightly into the cannon's barrel as it did in the 1800s.

As Tamrock guessed, I have to say the ball in the photo does not have the look of a cannonball, more because of the ragged hole in it than the presence of a moldseam. But I don't want to jump to a conclusion when the most important evidence is still missing. As the educational article I co-wrote says, super-precise weighing and measuring are needed. Hopefully this ball's finder will read the article (for free) at the link given by Ffuries, and tell us the result.

 

[ajkissin]

Thanks everybody! Unfortunately neither of us have the equipment to get exact measurements. I'll try to get my hands on what we need and hopefully come to a conclusion. Thanks again for the quick responses!