How to sell cannonballs?

[anchoredinchrist]

Hey, so I have gone through the verification of my find, I found around 175 canister shots, they are the 36 pounder, or 12 pounder grape shot. The munitions historian at the Missouri military museum said they were probably used by the Confederate army, since they used whatever they could get their hands on.

Anyway, I'm thinking that I have no need for so many of them, and would like to sell some, but really have no clue where to start. Should I get some kind of certification? Is there any law that could prevent me from selling them?
Thanks in advance!

 

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[GoDeep]

Cool. Whats the history behind them (where did you find them, etc). Do you have any pictures of them?

 

[vpnavy]

Hey, so I have gone through the verification of my find, I found around 175 canister shots...thinking that I have no need for so...would like to sell some...

Until a member pipes in - you might send RustyRelics a PM for advice. He has sold some here and on EBay.

 

[smokeythecat]

I would say the best wasy is on Ebay. Either sell them individually or in groups. Some folks have even reconsructed the canister shot or quilted grape shot and sold them that way. Just use an accurate description and check similar sold items before you start.

 

[RustyRelics]

First off, congrats on finding so many! The thing with ebay is, if you don't stand out, you won't sell.

There are a few kinds of listings I typically find on ebay for canister shot.

1. Round iron or steel balls that are not canister shot. These often get avoided

2. Real canister shot, but these are rusty/uncleaned. These sell, but they are also the most common thing out there. If you want to sell rusted canister, and beat the competition, you have to lower your prices by a dollar or two just to be noticed. Either that, or make it free shipping and work the cost of shipping into the price. It's a fact that people will buy items that say "Free Shipping, over one that has shipping, even though they're the same price. It's a psychological thing that we do I suppose.

3. Clean, authentic canister balls. These are tough to find, and if you take the time to clean them, it will be very much worth it. Think of it: Would you buy an artillery shell, say a Read, or Parrot, if it was fresh out of the ground, rusted, dirty, etc. or would you buy a nice black one that has been cleaned and preserved? 9/10, folks will buy the clean stuff instead of cleaning it for themselves. Now I on the other hand buy dirty stuff so I can enjoy cleaning it. Not everyone is like me though.


In short, you have to stand out. Try to clean them up. Take as good a picture as you can of them, make sure there is good lighting, pics aren't blurry, etc. Show a size reference, like a quarter for example. If all else fails, try to undercut the prices of others by a dollar or two, just so that cheapskates see them first. STATE THE PROVENANCE. You don't have to tell everyone where your secret site is, but if you make sure to state that you found them near a certain town, battlefield, landmark, etc. people like a good story.


If ebay is not your thing, try selling them to dealers like Virginia Relics. Depending on provenance, Andy Keyser from Gettysburg Relics likes that sorta thing.


If you need any more questions answered, I'm here until the weekend. Good luck!

 

[anchoredinchrist]

Cool. Whats the history behind them (where did you find them, etc). Do you have any pictures of them?

I found them behind my house, rather by accident. I had done some grading, and built my house, then while I was putting the siding on, I happened to look down and see one sticking out of the ground. I dug it up and found more and more... I dug them out and joked about them being cannonballs... But I still wondered what they were. I started in on research and realized they were the exact size and weight for grape/canister shot. I was still rather dubious, but had no other explanation for what they could be. I then took some of them to several museums and checked with some local civil war historians and then went to the Missouri military museum to show them to their munitions guy. He took one look at them and confirmed that's what they were and told me that they were probably Confederate, because of where they were. My house is 100 yards from the old Butterfield trail in central Missouri, there was a lot of troop travel through the area, since we're in the area between where there was a lot of action. I'll post some photos after a bit.

 

[gunsil]

I had several hundred rusty cannister iron balls, sold them to a dealer ten years ago for $1.50 each, he got $3-$4 each for them at gun shows. Whole cannisters are another story, quite rare, and I sold some of those forty years back for $100 each to a CW dealer who then marked them up to $400 each and sold them all. It might be easier to go to a gun show and find a dealer to take them all rather than try to sell them individually on ebay or elsewhere. You'll get less per ball but get a lump sum at once with less hassle.

 

[Tnmountains]

Contact Harry Ridgeway. You can google his name tell him T-Net sent you. He will help you .

 

[fyrffytr1]

I think if you become a charter member you can sell them here. I may be interested in a few.

 

[Tnmountains]

Post some pictures......

 

[anchoredinchrist]

I was trying to go back and find the photos from when I dug them up, but here they are in a crate in my shed.

 

[RustyRelics]

They definitely need a good cleaning.