Cannonball find

[ReelHabit]

Came across three of these up in the hills of California. They weigh about 70 lbs, 9'' wide 28" dia. They also appear to have one 3/4" tapped hole which must have been for a fuse. Any idea what type of cannon these were from or value? Thank you.

 

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[vpnavy]

I noticed this was your very first post - so, Welcome Aboard ReelHabit! You didn't list your state (or country) in your profile. So, you might consider jumping over to Sub-Forums: Select Your Area.... and selecting location information (i.e., clubs, hunts, finds, legends, maps, etc.) directly related to your state (or country). You might also consider adding your state (or country) to your displayed profile (SETTINGS -> EDIT PROFILE) so if you ask a question, etc. - people may have more success helping you (your location may help, etc.)...

 

[augoldminer]

Those are from a berdan pan used from gold ore grinding And used 3 balls.
the screw holes are for lifting them from the mill pan and when in use had a inset plug in them that could be removed and a eyebolt screwed in for lifting them out of the mill for cleaning the mill pan.

a cannon ball with fuse would be hollow and a berdan pan ball would not.
at 70 pounds yours sounds to be not hollow. a hollow 8 inch cannon/mortor ball would weigh around 40 to 45 pounds
i used a Berdan pan at one of the mines i worked at and the balls for them are 9 inch and heavy at around 75 pounds
and as far as i know no cannons/mortors of 8 inch were ever used in calif.