✅ SOLVED Maybe button and some sort of iron ball

sibbley

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Mar 18, 2023
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Nazareth, PA
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Dr. Otek MT-XR, Ace Apex, Xterra Pro, Nokta Legend, Nokta Makro Impact, Manticore, XP ORX, XP Deus 2 WS6 Master, Deeptech Vista X
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Found what I think maybe a button. Thoughts?
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If I lived somewhere that had a civil war battle I might think this was grape shot. Any thoughts?
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Thanks for looking...
 

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Solution
The button is 100% 18th C Pewter with iron shank, normally reserved for Military Buttons but some Civilian were made like this as well, like yours. Shame it didn't have any letters/numbers on it, these are contemporary with the Rev War period (& a bit later).
Sibbley wrote:
> If I lived somewhere that had a civil war battle I might think this was grape shot. Any thoughts?

I think we need you to make precise measurement of the iron ball's very-exact diameter, and tell us the results. Then we will see if your measurement matches up with any of the known diameters of Grape Shot balls (or other Artillery balls) in the US 1861 Ordnance Manual's "Shot Tables" size charts. If there is no exact match-up for your ball's diameter in those historical data documents, it is definitely not an Artillery ball.
 

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Sibbley wrote:
> If I lived somewhere that had a civil war battle I might think this was grape shot. Any thoughts?

I think we need you to make precise measurement of the iron ball's very-exact diameter, and tell us the results. Then we will see if your measurement matches up with any of the known diameters of Grape Shot balls (or other Artillery balls) in the US 1861 Ordnance Manual's "Shot Tables" size charts. If there is no exact match-up for your ball's diameter in those historical data documents, it is definitely not an Artillery ball.
I will measure it when I get home. I don't really think it's an artillery ball. No reason for anything like that to be in my yard. That was just the first thing that came to mind when I pulled it out of the hole.
 

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It measures .89 inches.
 

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Weight: 1.7 oz
 

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The button is 100% 18th C Pewter with iron shank, normally reserved for Military Buttons but some Civilian were made like this as well, like yours. Shame it didn't have any letters/numbers on it, these are contemporary with the Rev War period (& a bit later).
 

Upvote 1
Solution
The button is 100% 18th C Pewter with iron shank, normally reserved for Military Buttons but some Civilian were made like this as well, like yours. Shame it didn't have any letters/numbers on it, these are contemporary with the Rev War period (& a bit later).
Wow, thanks for the ID. This just proves to me; you MUST dig all targets to find some old pieces.
 

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