✅ SOLVED Small cannon but toy or somethng else?

[markincypress]

SOLVED!!Small cannon but toy or somethng else?

found this recently in a part of Houston Texas just east of downtown a older section of town. I know it is a cannon but it is very heavy and made of brass. The hole for the fuse is pretty large and leads into the barrel. The barrel is not sealed and could fire a projectile. The star emblem that you see in the photograph is also on the opposite side.

I originally thought that it might be a toy but the weight, composition and the large hole for the fuse has me wondering.

Any thoughts or ideas as to its age and use are appreciated.

I am calling this SOLVED thanks to the excellent replies

 

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[nhbenz]

Very nice find! I believe it's a signal cannon. There are folks here that know plenty about these, and since I don't I'll leave it to them! But here's a basic search... You may find a match while waiting for the pros; antique signal cannon - Google Search

 

[Silver Searcher]

First of all that's a hell of a find, the condition is superb...proberbly the best one I have seen.

Miniature cannons were sold to children as working replicas of their full size counterparts. Probably originally mounted on a wooden carriage. A small charge of black powder would be placed in the barrel followed by a small piece of wadding and a lead shot or stone. Quite a dangerous toy I would have thought. I wonder how many have exploded.

SS

 

[mical66]

nice find ,, i think it will be hard to determine if its a toy or signal cannon,, have spent the last little bit googling both and since both were made to fire its hard to say which it could be , i have looked at multiple sites and have not found any exactly like yours.

 

[cw0909]

nice find,maybe you can get a carriage made for it
my father had 2,and he said they shouldnt be sold as a toy since they work,could get them back in the
60s at the army surplus shops,dad used a wick and wads,shot,powder from the 12ga,when he wanted
to fire them

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

It is indeed a blackpowder toy cannon, probably made for a child's use, back before allowing a youngster access to such a thing wasn't grounds for arrest. It is definitely not a "signal cannon," for the following reason. Note that this cannon's muzzle is approximately a half-inch wide, and the bore-hole there is about 1/3rd of that half-inch. That translates to a .17-caliber gun -- which in everyday terms means its "bullet" would be the size of a BB. Firing a puny .22 pistol would give you a louder bang... which would seem to exclude this cannon from being an actual "signal cannon."

I doubt this one was made for firing a BB-sized cannonball. Loading it effectively for that purpose is actually not so simple as you'd think. I believe it is the toy-cannon equivalent of a "blank" pistol.

 

[mical66]

of course when i said it would be hard to tell the difference between the two , i meant for us humans and not the relic god TheCannonballGuy..

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Ouch. I appreciate the compliment... but I don't believe I qualify for that title. I am more mindful of how much I don't know than how much I do know.

Anybody can score an impressive A+ grade on an exam in which he is allowed to choose which questions to answer, and which ones not to. That's what I do in this forum. At best, I can correctly answer around 1 out of 15 what-is-it questions. That's actually not very good. So every day, to become a better ID-helper, I read this forum to memorize other people's correct answers, so I'll do better in the future.

 

[nhbenz]

So every day, to become a better ID-helper, I read this forum to memorize other people's correct answers, so I'll do better in the future.

I try to do the same, but with apparently poor results this time.
Well, maybe I'm better prepared for next time... But I struck out a lot as a kid.

 

[Red James Cash]

Though I doubt that it is.Small presentation cannons were made to present to ships officers.The carriages were made out of the same wood that the ship was built with.My brother has one thats about the size of yours,it still has and is mounted on the original carriage,a simple little block of wood.

 

[cw0909]

a cannon something like my fathers,i spoke to mom she said dad brought them home from the navy
in 53,and did not get his from the surplus shop,dads nephew bought his cannon there

cannon info
desk top miniatures
SIGNAL SALUTE & PERSONAL CANNONS BY LAND AND
info signal cannon
Antique Ship's Large Bronze Signal Cannon Original Carriage

like my fathers

 

[gunsil]

It is a toy cannon that worked. It once had a cast iron field carriage and indeed it could be fired. These were popular in the latter 1800s to the early 1900s along with the firecracker cannons. They were small as Cannonball says but they could still crack a nice salute for a kid and be reloaded as often as was desired and also served as a fourth of July noisemaker where firecrackers were unavailable. That is a way cool find and I think if you had a carriage made for it you could fire it again. The brass ones are fairly safe, the cast iron ones are a bit more risky. I have seen many and have a few that were put together with homemade wooden carriages and put back into service after someone dropped and broke the original cast iron carriage.

 

[worldtalker]

Take powder from a fire cracker with wadding,wick in torch hole,makes a nice BANG,I ain't no terrorist either,I like loud noises!That is a cool find man,Nice for sure. GodBless Chris

 

[gunsil]

Ummm, modern firecracker powder is stronger or more powerful than the black powder it was originally designed to use. I'd stay away from the silver firecracker powder for use in these old cannons. 3F black is good I use in the small ones, just a wad of paper, and you get your bang. You can get a fuse from a firecracker or bottle rocket.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

As I mentioned previously, this cannon appears to have an extremely small bore, apparently a mere .17-inch. That means it's going to give you a rather puny "bang." Thus, it cannot be considered a real Signal Gun -- it is an extremely miniaturized imitation of one, made either as a toy or a Commemorative item. Might be a "souvenir" of the American Revolution Bicentennial observances. I personally recall that super-miniaturized (but "working") imitations of civil war cannons were made and sold during the Civil War Centennial. My dad bought me one in 1964 at a souvenirs stand at a battle re-enactment.

 

[artemis moon]

Ummm, modern firecracker powder is stronger or more powerful than the black powder it was originally designed to use. I'd stay away from the silver firecracker powder for use in these old cannons. 3F black is good I use in the small ones, just a wad of paper, and you get your bang. You can get a fuse from a firecracker or bottle rocket.

I know this is not a Red Rider BB gun, but still: "Careful, or you'll shoot your eye out"! If you are going to try this, please make sure that you take video!

 

[gunsil]

As I mentioned previously, this cannon appears to have an extremely small bore, apparently a mere .17-inch. That means it's going to give you a rather puny "bang." Thus, it cannot be considered a real Signal Gun -- it is an extremely miniaturized imitation of one, made either as a toy or a Commemorative item. Might be a "souvenir" of the American Revolution Bicentennial observances. I personally recall that super-miniaturized (but "working") imitations of civil war cannons were made and sold during the Civil War Centennial. My dad bought me one in 1964 at a souvenirs stand at a battle re-enactment.

It isn't what small antique cannon collectors call a "fort" cannon. I think if you still have your 1964 cannon you will see that it is not bored all the way to the touch hole as are most of the ones you can still buy as souvenirs at old forts or bicentennial ones. This one is very well made and similar to the ones made in the 1880-1910 era by such famous makers as Ives Company. Also most of the souvenir cannons have "pinned" trunions not cast in ones like the found example. It was a quality made toy and if you were a kid back then the crack, flame, and puff of black powder smoke would have been a wonderful thing.