musket ball from median strip

[fordam3]

Fellow detectors, I seek your knowledge on certain relics. I found a musket ball today on a median strip, and have no idea about its potential age. The find was located about 15 minutes east of Cleveland on what used to be farmland. So my question is how long ago did muskets/this type of ammo go obsolete?

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[worldtalker]

Smokin poles are still used today,but,I doubt yours is new,what is the dia? I just LOVE old farm land,especially that has been worked for hundreds of years,find some pretty COOL stuff! God Bless Chris

[Swartzie]

Really hard to date a musket ball. If is not shiny or metallic looking then it's probably pretty old (1800's or earlier). Most of them have a chalky white patina on them. But, some can be brown or a dull grey. Musket balls were replaced by the minnie ball around the time of the civil war I believe. Do you have a picture and/or measurements of it? Cool find in a median strip.

-Swartzie

[dirtscratcher]

Could be old could be new. I bougth 5 tackle boxes at a yard sale the other day and there was a pouch of 45 cal balls in one. I used to get them from my dad and use in my slingshot.

[fordam3]

Whoops! I forgot the picture. I have it next to a standard clad dime for size reference. I'll snag a chart and check the caliber, but here's the picture in the meantime.

[Tom_in_CA]

Don't assume its a pistol ball. Could be one of those round fishing weights where the little copper loop part rotted or came off.

[fordam3]

Don't assume its a pistol ball. Could be one of those round fishing weights where the little copper loop part rotted or came off.

Perhaps, but I lean towards musket ball given that it was quite far from any fishable body of water and that my area is pretty close to some former tribal skirmish sites.

[JohnnyRebCSA]

I see a flat spot on it. That looks like it came that way so I kind of doubt it is a musket ball.

[l.cutler]

The flat spot is where the sprue was cut off after casting, totally correct for a musketball. It also appears to be about the right size to be a musketball.

[2muchstuff]

Definitely a newer musket ball. Older ones will be more pitted and chaulky. Maybe it fell off of a truck or a missed shot during deer season.

[fordam3]

Definitely a newer musket ball. Older ones will be more pitted and chaulky. Maybe it fell off of a truck or a missed shot during deer season.

When you say pitted, do you mean general inward deformities? It's also a tad chalky on the side that I didn't show in the picture. I'll post some more pictures when I can snag my camera. Thanks all!

[Swartzie]

Definitely has the sprue tip on it. You may be able to see mold seam along the side too. I'd say no doubt a musket ball. But age? I don't know. Do modern balls have sprue tips? I'd look around for more and use less discrimination to try and find some relic type stuff. Cleveland/Great Lakes area has history.

-Swartzie

[fordam3]

Definitely has the sprue tip on it. You may be able to see mold seam along the side too. I'd say no doubt a musket ball. But age? I don't know. Do modern balls have sprue tips? I'd look around for more and use less discrimination to try and find some relic type stuff. Cleveland/Great Lakes area has history.

-Swartzie

No kidding about its history! I'm sure there's some more goodies underneath my feet here. I see that you use the Tejon. How is it for relic hunting?

[Swartzie]

No kidding about its history! I'm sure there's some more goodies underneath my feet here. I see that you use the Tejon. How is it for relic hunting?

The Tejon is awesome for relic hunting, but you have to use it in the all metal mode to get the most from it. I'm a little south of you below the akron/canton area and like to hunt along part of the Tuscarawas river for fur trade era stuff. Musket balls can be a good sign that you are close to a site. It took me over a year of hunting and many musket ball finds until I actually found a fur trade site with lots of stuff on it including indian trade silver. So it aint easy. But I like it.

Good Luck.
-Swartzie

[NOLA_Ken]

You can get modern ball with the sprue still on them, I have a bunch for my .50 cal. This ball looks as big as the dime which would put it more in the .68 cal range.