✅ SOLVED Is it old or modern?

[BFR]

I dug this musket ball at a property that dates back to the early 1800s. And I know nothing about musket balls.





Thanks
BFR

 

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[A2coins]

Either do I but that is an awesome relic for a display case.. Good find!!!!!

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

.54 caliber?

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Not a .54-caliber ball, for two reasons. 1, the finder has got it incorrectly positioned in the caliper's jaws. It should go between the narrowest part of the jaws, not the wider. So, the caliper's "readout" of .538 is incorrect. The ball's diameter is actually larger than that. 2, a .54-caliber musketball (which by definition is for a muzzle-loading gun) is always smaller that the musket's bore-diameter. A .54-caliber musketball is typically somewhere between .520 and .530-inch. This ball is significantly larger than that.

As to whether this ball is a musketball or not... we'll have to check for a musketball diameter matchup after the digger measures it correctly and reports the result to us.

Additional closeup photos would also be helpful. There seems to be a raised sloped belt on it, which isn't a characteristic of a musketball. Maybe that's an optical illusion in the single closeup photo posted thus far. More photos, please.

 

[GeoW]

I must need a refresher course in caliper reading ��

 

[BFR]

Not a .54-caliber ball, for two reasons. 1, the finder has got it incorrectly positioned in the caliper's jaws. It should go between the narrowest part of the jaws, not the wider. So, the caliper's "readout" of .538 is incorrect. The ball's diameter is actually larger than that. 2, a .54-caliber musketball (which by definition is forma muzzle-loading gun) is always smaller that the musket's bore-diameter. A .54-caliber musketball is typically somewhere between .520 and .530-inch. This ball is significantly larger than that.

As to whether this ball is a musketball or not... we'll have to check for a musketball diameter matchup after the digger measures it correctly and reports the result to us.

Additional closeup photos would also be helpful. There seems to be a raised sloped belt on it, which isn't a characteristic of a musketball. Maybe that's an optical illusion in the single closeup photo posted thus far. More photos, please.

The measurement is correct and was taken properly (35 years of experience measuring parts, 0 years taking pictures). The ball is setting there for the picture. I will post more pictures from different sides later

 

[Tony in SC]

Slide the ball a little farther out in the jaws and measure again. The top photo looks like it may be in the gap?

 

[BFR]

I am sorry for the confusion about the point where it was measured. The ball was measured at the thin point (end) of the jaws, the thumb screw locked so I could get a picture. When I get home I will post a picture with the ball in the proper position as well as a couple of other views.

BFR

 

[BFR]

BFR

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

I was following along until you said the caliper is holding the ball up. But i will let someone else comment.

 

[chrisdigs]

Seriously you can see the round ball is wider than the gap on the calipers , looks like you need to measure center to get a correct diameter of the ball. Good Luck

 

[Andy0820]

OMG enough about the calipers, the question is if it's old or modern, my guess, old as heck! Mystery solved!

 

[coinman123]

OMG enough about the calipers, the question is if it's old or modern, my guess, old as heck! Mystery solved!

I agree, any lead with such a white patina is at least one hundred year old, probably older.

 

[BFR]

Thank you Andy0820 and coin123. All I was asking was for someone to say they were modern or old.

I ask a simple question that was made complicated by people that could not answer it.

BFR

 

[diggummup]

Thank you Andy0820 and coin123. All I was asking was for someone to say they were modern or old.

I ask a simple question that was made complicated by people that could not answer it.

BFR

Your first complication was posting a photo of something positioned incorrectly in calipers and calling it a musketball. I understand that you only asked whether it was old or not. A quick google search could have answered that for you, it did for me once. However since you posted photos with it in the calipers, TheCannonballGuy figured you may have also wanted to know what type of projectile it is. After all, he is a projectile expert and I don't see his reply as anything but inquisitive and informative. His questions based on the photo observations were necessary from what I'm looking at.

You explained that you have 35 years experience using calipers measuring parts, that's fine. What is the correct measurement? Unless of course the answer of "yes it's old" is enough for you. A simple question that could have actually been answered without a photo, with a simple description of "dug out of the ground and it had a white coating or patina on it."

 

[1320]

"I ask a simple question that was made complicated by people that could not answer it"

And this will help alienate yourself from answers to future questions, especially from TheCannonballGuy. Matter of fact TheCannonballGuy's comment was directed to Bigcypresshunter. I like most others (I assume) thought this thread would eventually head down the path for a proper ID and perhaps TheCannonballGuy was getting in front of it.
After all your post is in the "What Is It" forum.

If your satisfied with the answer, give this thread a proper solved green check mark, that's a nice way of saying thanks and also a nice way of "closing" the thread.

 

[BFR]

"I ask a simple question that was made complicated by people that could not answer it"

And this will help alienate yourself from answers to future questions, especially from TheCannonballGuy. Matter of fact TheCannonballGuy's comment was directed to Bigcypresshunter. I like most others (I assume) thought this thread would eventually head down the path for a proper ID and perhaps TheCannonballGuy was getting in front of it.
After all your post is in the "What Is It" forum.

If your satisfied with the answer, give this thread a proper solved green check mark, that's a nice way of saying thanks and also a nice way of "closing" the thread.

TheCannonballGuy is the only one that seem to have any clue as to weather it was an old or modern musket ball or just a round piece of lead with some patina. And since he did make reference to me as the digger and the finder in my post it was directed at also. Based on that I posted more pictures which showed that at 2 different points around the dia, it measured .536-.540. The caliper pictures were removed, because they were just confusing those that could not tell the difference between a bad picture and a bad measurement,


BFR

 

[BFR]

A that note this has been solved!

BFR

 

[1320]

A that note this has been solved!

BFR

Awesome!

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

TheCannonballGuy is the only one that seem to have any clue as to weather it was an old or modern musket ball or just a round piece of lead with some patina. And since he did make reference to me as the digger and the finder in my post it was directed at also. Based on that I posted more pictures which showed that at 2 different points around the dia, it measured .536-.540. The caliper pictures were removed, because they were just confusing those that could not tell the difference between a bad picture and a bad measurement,


BFR

i just want to say that we only have your pictures to go by and you did say "I will post a picture with the ball in the proper position" So posting a "bad picture" does not help us solve anything. And yes the photos removed that showed measurements of .536 and.540 with the ball above the caliiper, not between, were indeed confusing. And I think if you ask the readers, most would say those pictures showing a measurement with the description "caliper holding the ball up" would be depicting a bad measurement.


ADDED: But since its solved, non of that matters I guess. Im going to guess you took the correct measurements but spun the ball to a high point that allowed it to sit on top of the calipers for the picture. Is this correct? Also my original comment was just to get the conversation going. I am certainly not as knowlegable as CBG but I do own firing replica muzzleloaders and I may have been able to help by measuring my round balls.