Posted 2 years ago
Kjane79
(69 items)
Um... what is this?! I found it while doing an estate clean out. I thought it was kinda cool looking, but now I'm wondering if maybe I shouldn't have it in my house. It seems hollow, so it's not a cannonball. But it's metal. And round. And corroded. And dented. I just want to know it's not going to explode someday and impale us with 18th and 19th century shrapnel. Thanks!
Could be filled with gun powder.
Is there any type of fuse hole? A shot would be solid and a cannon ball would be hollow with stuff inside..see link below for the types.
They ID cannon balls by weight and size, do how big is this?
If your not sure, it's best to keep it in a safe place away from heat. DO NOT call the police or bomb squad, they will destroy it and history may be lost. Find a civil war person in your area that can identify and safely disarm it, if necessary
Usually cannon balls are 4 lbs and heavier.
https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org/blog/from-the-desk-of-andy-masich/cannonballs-unearthed-at-the-allegheny-arsenal
Shape with flat portions (dented) is indicative of a rock crusher vice a cannon ball.
scott
Aren't the rock crushers normally solid? He said it sounds hollow...
Sorry for the late reply. (I'm a she, not that it matters) Here's some more info: It is about 6 inches across. It weighs 1 lb 3 oz on my old Hanson utility scale. If it has gunpowder in it, would it be packed super tight, so it wouldn't shake? I may have tried shaking it upon discovery when I was first trying to figure out what it was. It doesn't rattle. Then it dawned on me that I might not want to do that. I think somebody's kids must have drawn on it with chalk at one time, because there is a residual smiley face that looks like it has been scrubbed off of one side. Maybe that means it's not dangerous. Or maybe the drawing was done in secret and the perpetrator just didn't know what they were decorating. Why not draw a face on that weird metal ball found in that box in the closet at grandpa's house? I don't see any holes in it, like where a wick or a fuse would have been. There are a couple areas that have gunk on them- it almost feels/looks like hardened wax, but I didn't try scraping it off to see if it was possibly plugging a hole because I didn't want to blow up. I don't think it is, I think it's probably just gunk, but I didn't want to take that chance. There is a faint seam that runs all the way around it that you can kind of see in the photos. That's really about all I can tell you. Maybe it's not any form of artillery, but I don't know what other purpose it might have had. Thanks, again!!
Sorry for assuming.. its hard to judge things in pictures over the internet. I think you need a expert. It's better safe than sorry.
I was thinking it could be a Japanese Dorodango Balls, but normally they are smaller, shiny and solid. Please update once you figure it out.