I need help identifying two iron balls I have kicking around the house.
1) The first ball weighs in at 5 lbs 15.1 oz. The diameter is approximately 3.557 inches. It has a mold seam and what appears to be raised numbers 1 1/4 (no slash mark). It came in an auction box lot back in the early 1980's with a couple of CW bullets. Others have guessed that it may be a shotput but I'm curious as to what the 1 1/4 could mean?
2) The second ball measures 3.23 inches diameter and weighs 4 lbs 12.2 oz. I don't see a visible mold seam. It was reportedly excavated from a wooded, undeveloped site in North Carolina which had some Revolutionary War activity. It was found buried in one of several stacks of approximately 55 each. Does anyone have specs for Brittish and American ordnance from the Revolution? I already have specs for CW shots and unless I'm doing it wrong, it doesn't appear to match them.
Also, are there any artillery collectors out there that can tell me what a significant deviance from the ordnance specs would be? For example if I measured a cannonball at 3.25 inches diameter, and the table said a 4 lb shot should be 3.17 inches, would that totally rule it out as a cannonball or would it still be possible due to rust, manufacturer's differences etc.? Sorry for all the questions but I'm new at this.
1) The first ball weighs in at 5 lbs 15.1 oz. The diameter is approximately 3.557 inches. It has a mold seam and what appears to be raised numbers 1 1/4 (no slash mark). It came in an auction box lot back in the early 1980's with a couple of CW bullets. Others have guessed that it may be a shotput but I'm curious as to what the 1 1/4 could mean?
2) The second ball measures 3.23 inches diameter and weighs 4 lbs 12.2 oz. I don't see a visible mold seam. It was reportedly excavated from a wooded, undeveloped site in North Carolina which had some Revolutionary War activity. It was found buried in one of several stacks of approximately 55 each. Does anyone have specs for Brittish and American ordnance from the Revolution? I already have specs for CW shots and unless I'm doing it wrong, it doesn't appear to match them.
Also, are there any artillery collectors out there that can tell me what a significant deviance from the ordnance specs would be? For example if I measured a cannonball at 3.25 inches diameter, and the table said a 4 lb shot should be 3.17 inches, would that totally rule it out as a cannonball or would it still be possible due to rust, manufacturer's differences etc.? Sorry for all the questions but I'm new at this.
