✅ SOLVED OH CANNONBALL GUY!!!!

[Kiros32]

I was convinced this was shrapnel when I dug it, but now I am not so sure, based simply on the fact that the shell walls are so thin. I couldn't find my calipers, but the width of the wall is only about 1/2 inch. Don't know what else it could be though given it's shape and where it was found. So the question for you sir, is did they make shells with thin walls? And what size do you think this was based on the rough measurements?

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Treasure of Victoria Peak - Grab it through Amazon!

[DCMatt]

It's a fossil coconut.

DCMatt

 

[smokeythecat]

Shell. A lot of the earlier shells had thin walls especially those meant to be used as hand grenades.

 

[duggap]

I think it is part of a shell also. But I am not so sure that it is particularly thin. It looks about average to me.

 

[Kiros32]

I think it is part of a shell also. But I am not so sure that it is particularly thin. It looks about average to me.

Thanks for the info. All of the frags I have found have been thicker than this, but perhaps it because I haven't found this type before.

 

[duggap]

Hey I could be wrong. I was looking at my 12 lb round ball and it looks about the same thickness. CBG will give us the real scoop when he checks in.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

It is definitely a fragment of an explosive cannonball. Because it's a bit less than a half of the sphere, I closely examined all three photos to be sure of its diameter. It is a fragment of a 12-Pounder caliber (4.52"-diameter) roundshell. Specifically, it is from a Case-Shot shell, meaning, an explosive one which contained antipersonnel balls. The "plain" type, which contained nothing but gunpowder, was called Common-Shell. A 12-pounder Case-Shot's shellwall thickness was specified to be about .45-inch thick (which matches yours, when you subtract the rust-encrustation from its total thickness). A 12-pounder Common-Shell's thickness was about .7-inch.

I see you live in Pennsylvania, so I'll assume that's where you dug your cannonball shell fragment. Although some Revolutionary War battles were fought in Pennsylvania, Case-Shot shells did not exist until after the end of the Revolutionary War. So, your Pennsylvania-dug fragment can only be from either the War Of 1812 or the Civil War.

Compare the shellwall thickness shown in the two photos below, one being a 12-Pounder caliber Common-Shell, and the other being a 12-Pounder caliber Case-Shot.

 

[Kiros32]

Awesome, thank you sir! This was actually dug in Jefferson County, WV, at a site where I have dug many shell frags before. This is my first 12 pounder though!

 

[agent132]

All, especially cannonballguy, I have found similiar frag (or at least what I think is) and would like to have someone help me ID it. Will be posting soon. You guys are a wealth of knowledge, so any help is appreciated. Great find Kiros!! - G