Stone cannonball? Found on a farm in hedgesville wv

[Kryptkid0]

I have no idea what it is.it weighs about 35lbs but thats literally all i know.i see what looks like maybe some quartz and a piece of metal on 1 side.its round not perfect but close enough.i highly doubt its a cannonball but it did come from a place with alot of civil war history

 

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[robertk]

Big geode, maybe?

 

[smokeythecat]

It's a geode. A natural mineral. There are has some nice and pricey ones. It's irregular shape would have blown up a cannon.

 

[ticndig]

.i see what looks like maybe some quartz and a piece of metal on 1 side.

metal as in a bolt or eye? if so I say it's a gate weight.

 

[Kryptkid0]

metal as in a bolt or eye? if so I say it's a gate weight.

Not sure it could have been something hammered in to try to split it i will get some pliers tomorrow and see if i can pull the piece out.

 

[ncsuwolf]

Not sure it could have been something hammered in to try to split it i will get some pliers tomorrow and see if i can pull the piece out.

Before you do that, can you provide a pic of the metal portion? Maybe I’m missing it, but not obvious to me in first set of pics. Thanks

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

I agree with robertk and my good friend Smokey. Speaking as a longtime rock-hound and geode collector, its surface does have the look of geode. All I need to add is that it its reported weight of 35 pounds is very uncommonly heavy for a geode found in West Virginia. Therefore, I think it's more likely to be a "filled" geode... meaning, its internal cavity gradually got entirely filled in with water-deposited dissolved minerals, such as Chalcedony, Agate, etc. Some rock-&-mineral collector people call these "solid" geodes a Thunder Egg. Google the term to see examples.

 

[Kryptkid0]

Before you do that, can you provide a pic of the metal portion? Maybe I’m missing it, but not obvious to me in first set of pics. Thanks

Its flush with the ball i cant get a vicegrip on it to pull it lol maybe its the tip of a sword in a stone lol

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Its flush with the ball i cant get a vicegrip on it to pull it lol maybe its the tip of a sword in a stone lol
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Doesn't look like metal when blown up. Looks like geode who knows what "treasure" is in the middle.

 

[Kryptkid0]

I agree with robertk and my good friend Smokey. Speaking as a longtime rock-hound and geode collector, its surface does have the look of geode. All I need to add is that it its reported weight of 35 pounds is very uncommonly heavy for a geode found in West Virginia. Therefore, I think it's more likely to be a "filled" geode... meaning, its internal cavity gradually got entirely filled in with water-deposited dissolved minerals, such as Chalcedony, Agate, etc. Some rock-&-mineral collector people call these "solid" geodes a Thunder Egg. Google the term to see examples.

I checked thunder egg,very cool but it seems large and martinsburg wv is not a place their found but the people who owned the farm traveled alot to various places and countries.i also have a painting from toromolinos spain from the same farm so it may not be local.it was sat beside the fireplace lol

 

[Kryptkid0]

Doesn't look like metal when blown up. Looks like geode who knows what "treasure" is in the middle.

I need to find a way to slice it in half than.i love rocks i even have a large(20lb) concretion of quartz from a quarry in arkansas lol

 

[Almy]

I've found a couple of round rocks. The larger one (3" diameter and 2 1/4 pounds) came from an early 1800s homestead which was near running water with lots of stones in it. The smaller one (2" diameter) was in that water an so was the egg-shaped one. The round ones are granite and appear to be solid. I wondered whether the larger might be an indigenous people's game ball. But I really believe all 3 are the result of wear against other stones and sand in the moving water. The larger round one is not perfectly round but the smaller one is very close to round.

 

[Kryptkid0]

I've found a couple of round rocks. The larger one (3" diameter and 2 1/4 pounds) came from an early 1800s homestead which was near running water with lots of stones in it. The smaller one (2" diameter) was in that water an so was the egg-shaped one. The round ones are granite and appear to be solid. I wondered whether the larger might be an indigenous people's game ball. But I really believe all 3 are the result of wear against other stones and sand in the moving water. The larger round one is not perfectly round but the smaller one is very close to round.

Very cool there is no running water on the old farm there is a pond but its very small.im trying to find someone with a proper saw to cut it in half.even if it only has normal stuff,i am super curious to see.yours are much more smooth.i will take better pictures of it tomorrow showing other sides and what i really think is something someone used to try to split it.

 

[Tesorodeoro]

Could it have been a horse hobble weight? I don’t know if they were used in modern times, but native Americans are theorized to have used “hobble stones”. Maybe a boat anchor? Just a wild idea.

Highly doubt it would be a stone cannon ball.

Use a metal detector to see if what you think is iron is in fact iron. If it does have iron in it, that possibly makes it an artifact of some sort. I would rule that out before cutting/splitting the stone. I wouldn’t pull it out. Interesting mystery and you will learn something by the end.